Flowerborn
by Gabriela Romero
Summary: Enslaved to an evil wizard, Tai is forced to kidnap a maiden of mysterious powers. Some say she's the embodiment of Mother Earth, others say she's flowerborn. One thing was sure though, when a flower meets the sun, it never wants to turn away. A fantasy story in which fate brings Tai and Mimi together; only she can break his curse and only he can save her life. AU. MimixTai.
1. Prelude

**Summary:** Enslaved to an evil wizard, Tai is forced to kidnap a maiden of mysterious powers. Some say she's the embodiment of Mother Earth, others say she's flowerborn. One thing was sure though, when a flower meets the sun, it never wants to turn away. A fantasy story in which fate brings Tai and Mimi together; only she can break his curse and only he can save her life. **_Alternate Universe_**.

**Pairings:** MimixTai, SoraxMatt, KarixT.K.

**Theme Song:** "Colécciónista de Canciónes" by Camila

* * *

_Act I: "Written in the Stars"_

**~~~ooooo~~~**

**Prelude: The Boy Who Burned Under the Sun**

His feet burned with every step he took, the pebbles under him impaling and searing his skin. The ground was hot and unforgiving, but he barely paid any heed. He had to press on, to keep on walking; else he was sure he would melt into the hard ground. Ahead, small specks of grass gathered as he neared the cliff, so his bared soles found a small reprieve from the pain of the rocky soil when he stepped into the short pasture.

Taichi was blinded by the scorching sunlight, making him stop for the sliver of a moment. Beads of sweat rolled down his temples as he looked around again and again, but his heart gnawed and screamed at him to keep walking towards the cliff. Somehow his heart knew that if he blindly followed his instincts, he would find the truth by the cliff. The wind ruffled his hair, yet brown tufts stuck to his face at awkward angles, half drenched in the sweat that continued to seep from his scalp and forehead. His skin, usually pale white from lack of sunlight, had red burns caused by the sun wherever exposed.

All around him, everything was so bright and red and searing hot. Taichi stopped right at the edge of the cliff, his bared toes hugging the ground else he slipped and fell. Below the cliff there was nothingness. He was so high up he could not see the end. If he fell, he would hardly see where he would crash, or if he would crash at all. Still, something told him that he would not fall. That if he took a leap of faith, the sun and the light and heat would wrap him in their embrace and lift him up to the heavens.

He considered it, until a gleeful voice startled him from behind. Taichi whipped around, his predator instincts awakening from their slumber. The giggles reached his ears and he had to squint his brown eyes in the blinding light to see the figure that was approaching him from the distance. A person, unlike any other he had seen before, walked and twirled and laughed as they approached him.

She had curls that under the sunlight looked like liquid honey. Nearly naked, her intimate parts were wrapped in leaves that seemed to protrude from and be part of her very skin. She hummed her way closer to him, unaffected by the searing ground and blinding sunlight. "Are you going to jump?" Her voice, too, was thick and sweet like honey itself. He wanted to reply, but the words were stuck in his mouth—or rather, his body wasn't letting him.

When her hand made contact with his wrist, his body became ablaze. Not painfully ablaze, but overflowing with uncontrollable energy. He could jump! He could do it and not fall! He could bring her with him and make love to her until their bodies became one. He was going to do it, too, until she withdrew her hand and gave him a terrified sort of look. The girl whipped around and fled, her body disappearing within the blinding light in a matter of seconds, leaving him burning with confusion.

No matter if she left him. She had given him the energy and encouragement he needed. Without second thought or warning, Taichi jumped. Suddenly a searing pain overtook his back and as he looked back he realized he had sprouted grotesque, lizard-like wings. The realization elated him. He knew how to control them, too, he quickly discovered.

Taichi ignored the painful blinding of his eyes as he beat his wings over and over and over again against the nothingness as he drew closer to the sun. The sun was calling him, and oh he would answer that call. Taichi laughed manically as he got closer and closer. His skin seared and scorched and his hair suddenly turned aflame. Pain turned to pleasure and back again, and suddenly his entire body was on fire. He panicked, and his wings, which were now two flaming banners, gave out on his weight. Taichi fell with a silent scream, and his entire form went out like a banishing flame. Then there was nothing.

Taichi awoke from his slumber with a panicked gasp. He clawed at his own neck deliriously for a split second, until he realized the blackness and the cold that surrounded him and calmed knowing that he was back to himself. His breathing slowed as his eyes adjusted from the harsh change. He was in his chambers, he realized. Back in the cold and the damp and the blackness. A pair of eyes glowered at him by the oak entrance door, eyes that much resembled that of a wolf. Aside from the odd glint in those eyes, everything else remained deathly dark and still in the room.

"What is it?" Being able to speak felt like sweet relief, for he had been unable to in that nightmarish dream, when the honey maiden captivated him and stole his voice.

The shadowed being moved closer to his bed and his countenance came into better view, not that he needed reassurance of who this was; only one person in the castle had the eyes of a wolf. "Is sleeping beauty having a nightmare?" His sworn brother asked him insolently.

Taichi threw the quilted sheets off him in a rage and stalked to his wardrobe—a gigantic thing of oak with gargoyles carved along the edges—to withdraw an appropriate set of clothes. "Drop the sarcasm and be done with it or get out of my chambers," he spat. Yamato Ishida was a boy who could barely hold his own against Taichi; he was treading on dangerous ground every time he spoke to him with such audacity.

Yamato wasn't a fool, he supposed, for he cleared his throat with a cough and quickly said, "Lord Apocalymon has summoned us."

"Do you take pleasure from watching me sleep?" Taichi turned back to the boy now that he was fully dressed in a sleeveless doublet and sturdy trousers of boiled leather. A simple steel sword, _his companion_, hung lazily on its scabbard by his waist.

A smug smirk materialized itself upon Yamato's fair face, "It's been a long while since I've seen you dream, Taichi Kamiya". Taichi inwardly agreed. Dreams were not something one simply came by in the Castle of the Undead.

The two left the chamber wordlessly. Taichi continued to muse on his dream even as he stalked, side by side with Yamato, to the highest chamber inside the main keep of the castle. Everywhere they went, the halls were just as dark as it had been inside his room. What a contrast the dream had been. Taichi could scarcely remember the last time he saw anything but nighttime, let alone such a blinding sun.

The torches along the stone walls casted eerie, green lights unto their faces as they walked, revealing their features. Yamato had dirty, wild, yellow hair that looked fluorescent under the harsh lighting of the magical torches. Two long scars marred the side of his cheek and nose, where long ago wargs of his own kind had left him beaten and bloody deep within the Forest of Woes. He wore boiled leather under his signature steel plated armor that left certain areas of his body exposed to allow for his agile movements. His boots, clunker and cheaper than Taichi's, made the castle halls resonate with the sound of his footsteps, awakening the undead as they went.

Castle of the Undead was a majestic fortress overlooking the most haunted forest in the kingdom, the Forest of Woes. Four pointed towers protected the main keep from the north, south, east, and west, and a wall of moldy stone as high as the eye could see surrounded the towers and the main grounds. The towers, however, paled in comparison to the terrible grandeur of the main keep, where the Lord of the Castle of the Undead resided. The tallest tower spiraled up from the main keep, losing itself in the black fog that surrounded the castle and the forest, shrouding them in perpetual nighttime.

The stench of rotting corpses impregnated their senses as they came upon the two ancient oak doors that led to Apocalymon's chambers. The handles were of an iron so rusted that unsuspecting visitors might cut and infest their own hands by just attempting to pry the doors ajar. The doors creaked loudly as Taichi pushed them open, and almost as if startled by the noise, a dozen decaying bodies turned sharply to their direction. The Lord of Castle of the Undead wouldn't allow himself to be without his puppets, so Taichi was not surprised to see Apocalymon surrounded by his summoned wights.

Apocalymon was an ancient Dejimon, so old that it was said he had lived through five centuries. He was tall and lean, with a pointed face that was more demon than human, and short, sharp teeth, that yellowed and rotted with his age. He always wore the same ebony black robes embroidered in the sleeves and neck with crimson silk. His cape, long and black just as his robes, had a majestic collar that stood two heads higher than his own head. Today he wore a helmet forged from dragon bones itself, which hid half his face and skull, allowing the thin strands of his spidery hair to sway freely behind him.

He sat on a stiff chair of broken stone, which he liked to call his "throne." The Lord of the Castle of the Undead rose when they entered the room and Taichi and Yamato bowed down to their knees so low that their noses touched the ground, as it had been engrained to them since the moment they entered Apocalymon's service. It was either their noses touch the ground, or their noses be sliced by the Dejimon's long, steely fingers.

"My lord, pardon our delay," Taichi was the first to speak. To Apocalymon, Taichi was always late and at fault.

"How did obtaining the _little lady_ go?" Apocalymon's words were icy cold and unforgiving. The wights around them soon lost interest in their exchange and went back to overlooking down the windows… patrolling the hall… guarding their master…

Taichi was momentarily confused, but it was Yamato that answered. "Flawlessly as usual; the town folk believe she was taken by bandits for ransom."

Lord Apocalymon chuckled and it was then that Yamato and Taichi felt safe to leave the stone ground and stand straight once again. "Foolish humans, thinking they will get their little heiress back," he let out a self-satisfied chuckle, which brought shivers down Taichi's spine. Taichi served Lord Apocalymon for as far back as his memory could take him, yet he could never grow accustomed to the necromancer's mannerisms. "I will have to see to her soon; my spirit is growing hungry."

He approached Taichi in several quick steps, towering over his prodigy and first in command. His rotting teeth glistened under his sneer as he spat out, "Taichi, I didn't call you here just to look at your insolent face. Tonight, you will be leaving with a special assignment."

"Whatever my lord commands," Taichi tried to bow again, but Apocalymon stopped him by placing one deathly pointed hand upon his shoulder. "There is a peasant in Piyo Village, right from where the _little lady_ came from," he paced in front of Taichi, his eyes travelling from his two subordinates over to his undead creatures and back to his throne chair. "I predict she harvests… an interesting power. If my prediction is true, then I want to possess this power, and if she doesn't," he chuckled cynically again, "She can just become fodder to my creations. We all know they get quite hungry every once in a while. Bring her to me. Come back without her and I will not forgive you your life."

His brown eyes hardened. "How do I know who she is?"

Apocalymon's golden eyes dilated in sheer mirth, "You will know because she will seem like she is your life. Quite literally."

She will seem to be his life? Suddenly an image of the maiden with the honey hair and that honeyed voice filled his head. _No_, dreams were for foolish children who had families and lived happy, peasant lives. Dreams daren't enter the Castle of the Undead. And dreams were certainly not for him, for he was the prodigy of the Dejimon Apocalymon and heir to his undead castle. Taichi Kamiya forcefully shook the thought away. "As you wish, my lord. I will bring you this girl."

* * *

Please leave a review :).


	2. The Castle Where the Sun Never Rises

_'_

_Act I: "Written in the Stars"_

**~~~ooooo~~~**

**Chapter I: The Castle Where the Sun Never Rises**

In the dawn of times, the Kingdom of Dejimon was a land of magic and spring. With valleys and forests that stretched over as far as the eye can see, it was a land virgin to the human touch, a land where magic coursed through its core like veins. The kingdom began with a road that was said to start where the sun rose and end at the end of the world, where snowy valleys spanned and tipped until the mountains and the sky touched. The road was named after the benevolent Lord and Lady Belisse, for it was they who united the land from south to north millennia ago, with the combined help of giants and humans and even the magical Dejimon. The making of Belisse Road marked the time when humans and magical beings worked together to unify a kingdom.

After the land was united from tip to tip, small homesteads and villages began growing along this prosperous road. Merchants in wagons filled with technologies and novelty craftsmanship began travelling from the Royal City of Nova Cursa down south to the uninhabited wilding lands, where the forests and marshes were filled with ancient lore of magical Dejimon as beautiful as the golden elves and as fearsome as the three-eyed giants. Families began pouring from the north where the first civilized folk settled, down to the mystical south; it was a chance of fortune, to claim acres upon acres of virgin, magical land to their names. Soon homesteads and farms turned to bustling villages and villages evolved into prosperous cities—thus marking the beginning of the great Kingdom of Dejimon.

It is in one of those villages, in the comely Piyo Village, the ancient home of the bird Dejimon, that our story begins.

Many years ago, humans settled their farms and homesteads in the spring lands the bird Dejimon called home. Thatched roof houses began emerging, one by one, along the bird Dejimon's straw huts. This marked the beginning of a mutually beneficial relationship between the humans and the Dejimon; the humans drew magic and knowledge from the bird Dejimon while the Dejimon assimilated their lifestyles to that of the civilized human way. Propped in the center of a rich land known for its short winters and bountiful harvests, Piyo Village became one of the many settlements along Belisse Road.

Surrounding Piyo Village were cherry red and mahogany and goldenrod squares of farmland that spread past the valleys, ending at a great creek once said to be magical. The streets of Piyo Village were lined with colorful houses adorned by wildflower shrubs and golden apple trees. The village was flanked from the west by the great Takenouchi Castle, which stood proud with its banners—a burgundy two-headed eagle sprawled upon a poppy orange sky—and to the east by an ancient temple of marble and oak that revered the wise Birdramon. A golden bird stood, tall and proud, at the tip of the temple's triangular roof, its golden outstretched wings reflecting rainbow morning sunlight upon the temple's entrance and onto the cobblestoned streets of the marketplace.

The marketplace began at a stone arch, which was engraved with the image of Birdramon. According to legend, the mighty Birdramon protected humans and Dejimon alike when the three-eyed giants marched north centuries ago, despairing that the land as they knew it was coming to an end. Since then the citizens of Piyo Village made Birdramon their deity, and its image has been projected anywhere and everywhere.

Shops and merchant wagons huddled side by side in a long street that was the marketplace, which eventually ended and merged with Belisse Road. There was a blacksmith and an apothecary, a butchery and a gambling house, a trading hub and an inn, and the long street ended with the shop-tents of traveling gypsies that brought merchandise from the farthest ends of the kingdom.

As the sun started to fall to the west, casting great shadows upon the Takenouchi Castle, the bustle of people in the marketplace slowly dwindled down. After a long day's work, humans and Dejimon alike trickled back to their colorful homes and to their families, uninterested in what little left the shops had to offer. A sort of peaceful silence filled the marketplace, a silence that propagated from the cobblestone streets all the way to a quaint little bakery by the stone arched entrance.

Even as sky turned from scarlet to deep blues, the smells of fresh bread still emanated from the bakery, where deep within the stone oven the firewood spit and crackled as it slowly died out. A girl of long wavy hair stood behind an oak counter, her head resting on her elbows as she rocked back and forth on her stool. She was of grown age, with fair skin and eyes and hair of the same sweet color as honey. She looked plain and dirty in a roughspun dress and a mustardy apron that was once the color of vanilla, but seemed stained beyond repair.

Her eyelids dropped, then opened, sleep slowly creeping up to her. It had been a long day, as it always was, and she was too distracted in her own musings and drowsiness to hear the soft footsteps coming from the back room. "Mimi! Just what do you think you are doing?" As if icy water had been thrown upon her face, the girl stood up immediately and turned to the burly woman that had just walked in.

The girl bowed in embarrassment, "Ma'am, I'm minding the shop."

Euphratus was a woman as tall as she was thick. She had red ringlets of hair that fell upon her shoulders and back, and her spotted face had the red flush of someone who had spent a lot of time working a kitchen. She grabbed the nearest broom and nearly smacked Mimi across the back with it. "An excuse to slack off! We are closing! Pray tell me, who is coming in at this time?" Mimi promptly stepped away from the broom's reach. "Stop pretending like you own this bakery and get to cleaning up! That is what you are here for! Nothing else!"

Mimi did as she was told; after all she was simply the baker's apprentice.

"Children these days… good thing your looks make up for your lack of wits, girl. How are you supposed to be any good to the shop if you are never any good to me?" Euphratus rambled on as Mimi began sweeping the stuffy corners of the bakery, where crates of flour and sugar were piled high against the walls. Mimi angrily ignored her, feeling more like a kitchen slave and less like a baker's apprentice with every day that passed. Mind you she never complained. Slaving for Euphratus was better than sleeping in the streets any day of the week in Mimi's book.

Just then, when Euphratus had begun to gather the unsold bread into a basket, the door jingled and in walked a woman with a quiet child at her wake. Mimi looked up and wasn't surprised to see Mrs. Weatherbane come in. She always made late afternoon calls into the bakery, which was half the reason why Mimi had still been minding the shop and not closing up. Mrs. Weatherbane was one of the few Dejimon that still lived in Piyo Village. She was a bird Dejimon whose family had lived in Piyo Village since the times when the Village was founded, or so she claimed.

"Euphratus, dearest, I hope I haven't come too late!" Of course she had, but Euphratus would never turn down a costumer. Mrs. Weatherbane was as tall as any human, her body covered in coral red plumage, with a beak for a mouth and long feathers that protruded from under her dress for a tail; she was a bird in a flowery dress and a Sunday hat.

"Mrs. Weatherbane, how can I help you?"

"Well I've come to buy all the unsold bread, you know that, for the temple, you see."

Mimi half listened to their conversation while she stole shy glances at Mrs. Weatherbane's son. He was too engrossed in a thick book to notice her, and somehow Mimi had always liked him for that. He, too, was covered from head to toe in rich plumage, and wore leather trousers and an embroidered ash grey vest. He was a lonely boy, which wasn't surprising, since the children in the village seldom mixed acquaintances with the Dejimon kind. The human children kept to themselves just as the Dejimon children also kept to themselves. It was the way of life, and it was unfortunate for him, since the Dejimon families that still resided in Piyo Village could be counted with the fingers in her hand. In a way he was like her, with very little friends, though she daren't ever try to make conversation with him, else she faced Euphratus' wrath.

"The Lady Sora Takenouchi? The little heiress?" Mimi's thoughts were interrupted by Euphratus' booming voice.

"Yes ma'am! Her parents have set posters all around town! And a mighty bounty to whoever is brave enough to get her back!"

Mimi stilled for a second behind Euphratus' line of sight while she listened to the women gossip. "How could that possibly happen? Who would want to hurt the little Lady?"

"I reckon it's bandits! Kidnapping her just to make some money off the poor landlords!" Mrs. Weatherbane huffed. "Well I do hope they find her, she's their only child and heir isn't she? Oh the poor mother… if anybody were to take my Jhon from me I wouldn't know what to do!" She gathered the giant straw sack of breads and pastries between her bosom and scurried her son forward, to leave the bakery.

"I couldn't possibly imagine… Well I hope to see you tomorrow, Mrs. Weatherbane. Have a nice evening." Euphratus leaned forward, her bosom pooling over the counter as she waved goodbye.

"Of course, the temple needs all the food it can take, for the poor and sickly. I'm always happy to make the donations," the old woman chortled as she pushed through the door, and out to the dark streets she went, her son at her wake.

Euphratus snorted once she had left, "Or to stuff that beak of yours, more like."

Lady Sora had been kidnapped by bandits? Mimi was momentarily saddened. She had seen the young lady many times in her escort of guards whenever the lords visited the marketplace. Lady Sora had even smiled at her once, which had taken her off guard. No one around here bothered to be nice to an orphaned apprentice like her. She just hoped the lady made it back safe somehow, after all, she was the lords' only daughter.

"And you! Get back to work and close the bakery!" Euphratus caught Mimi drifting off into space, making her jump back to sweeping the floor. "Bandits kidnapping little ladies… that's the last thing this town needs," Euphratus mumbled to herself as she scuffled out the back door and out of sight.

Night had fallen by the time Mimi locked the door to the bakery. The lighted candles filled the shop with a quaint glow, casting long shadows past the grates and the oven. Finally, once Mimi was done polishing the floors and the countertops, once the pastry trays had been stacked and the display glass had been swiped, she busied herself with the flower pots that decorated the space.

Mimi Tachikawa was supposed to be the baker's apprentice, but if truth be told, she was much better with flowers. One side of the shop, where the display countertop and the wall and the wooden windowsill met, was amply decorated with flowerpots and flower basins. Five tulips stood erect in a lavender basin, freshly cut and still radiant. Beside it was a small pot that housed an exotic cactus brought from the south by a traveling gypsy; the cactus was decorated with miniscule, dotted flowers the color of dandelion. The rest of the basins upon the countertop held an assortment of shrubs and wildflowers taken from the streets of Piyo Village itself. And finally, at the foot of the countertop by the window stood a sturdy ceramic pot filled with greens and protruding in carnations. All these flowers were here because of _her_.

Mimi took a whiff of the tulip petals, momentarily sighing in bliss, and turned her attention to the carnations by the window, kneeling close to them. They were of the lilac and pink type, with specks of white surging from the center. Her honey eyes watched them in curiosity; somehow it seemed as if half of them were downcast. Yes, downcast like a person would feel if they were rejected by their loved one—downcast like when someone has a bad day, and all they wanted to do is go home to their dog. Mimi _felt_ the flowers, their sadness, and figured that the only thing that would make them happily erect once again would be a bit of her light.

She cupped her hands around three flowers at a time, and pushed all her love and happiness and energy through. She had done this many times before, though secretly; it was the secret of how her flowers looked so fresh and radiant for so long. Waves of light surged from within the depths of her palms and onto the flowers. The light coursed through the petals and into the flowers' core, and at once the flowers moved, standing taller and more beautiful than ever. "There you go, that ought to do," the baker girl giggled, as if these flowers were her friends.

Mimi stood up to her feet, dusting her mustardy apron off, and smiled at the flowers, "You all better be radiant tomorrow for when I open the bakery! Coming here to eat breakfast is never the same without you lovely ladies…"

The wick of the candles sizzled whenever she pressed her damp fingers against them, putting out their light. Mimi made a round around the shop one last time to make sure everything was perfect, and soon enough she was walking out the back door and past the courtyard of Euphratus' home. For a second Mimi surveyed the sky, noting how today everything looked particularly dark. _There is no moon tonight, mayhap that is why the carnations are so sad_.

Euphratus' courtyard connected the bakery to the main house. The ground here was unpaved, with a square tuft of grass growing right in the center, around a crooked fountain that, more often than not, was filled with old rain water—a birthing place for tadpoles and mosquitoes. The stillness of the night unnerved her, yet she remained standing by the door that led to Euphratus' foyer, watching the sky. It was a warm spring night, but as she stood there, her eyes on the blanket of black that was the sky, Mimi felt colder than ever. She quickly tiptoed her way inside, never once noticing the still figure that crouched by the neighbor's old thatched roof. Mimi turned around one last time before closing the door behind her, for she got the overwhelming feeling of being watched, but all she saw was the stillness of the night.

Inside the house was comely enough, with its creaky floors and worn-out flowery wallpaper. Mimi only welcomed the darkness, for everything was exactly where it was meant to be; not even the oddest shadow could possibly alarm her. She made sure of this by keeping the house tidy every day, else she faced Euphratus' scolding. Euphratus and her husband mostly kept to the first floor, her bedchamber hidden past a small hallway, while the dinning and kitchen areas where a floor below, down in the cellar. Mimi had no place in this home though, her space was up two flights of stairs, where Euphratus allowed her to live in the small attic.

The tiny space had been crawling with spiders and beetles on her very first day, when Euphratus and her husband welcomed her into their home. Never again though; Mimi cleaned the attic up and filled it with her necessities, and through the years it slowly began to accumulate her belongings. The attic had a circular window so wide that during the daytime the sun was enough to bask the room with light, and during the nighttime the moonlight was so bright it could make any candle blush in shame. Next to the window were two tall plants, lush and green, though these didn't bloom flowers. Her bed was of matted straw, covered with a woolen quilt she herself had made.

It was so dark that Mimi almost knocked into her wooden chest as she came in, but at the same time didn't care to light a candle, for all she wanted was to undress and crawl into her raggedy bed. She threw her mustardy apron aside and was about to slip out of her roughspun dress when a sudden breeze overtook the room. Mimi stopped, the hairs on her arm prickling at the sensation of the wind upon her bared arms and legs. The window had been closed—how could she possibly feel wind in her stuffy attic?

As if by a sixth sense, Mimi knew she wasn't alone in the room anymore. She turned and, despite the darkness, could see the outline of a man standing in-between her and the circular attic window. The window panes were ajar behind him. There was a long pause in which the man observed her, all the while Mimi's eyes were slowly adjusting to his presence. He was a youth, undoubtedly around her age; tall with wild hair and a lean posture.

She should have screamed, but something about him captivated her. "What are you doing? What do you want?" A strange calmness had overtaken her. She was terrified of him, yet couldn't bring herself to scream for Euphratus' help.

"You." A chill ran down her hairs and skin at the sound of his voice. All her fears were reawakened at his answer and just as she was starting to take a shaky step back, he suddenly jumped at her. The world went pitch black around her and all she saw before losing consciousness was a blur of movement and the detail in his eyes as he drew close to deliver the blow to her neck, making her collapse on his arms.

**~~~ooooo~~~**

Mimi's eyes opened suddenly, her body still paralyzed in the state it was laying on. Around her everything was dark, and while her eyes adjusted Mimi noticed the sharp stench that overwhelmed her senses. This smell was alarmingly different to the scents she was used to. She wasn't in her little attic anymore, that was for sure. It was at that instant that Mimi remembered the events that led her to this and she immediately sat up from her laying position.

Her head spun while her hands felt the dusty stone that was the floor. She heard voices around her and in the dim light she saw a mass of clothes and flesh that was a person laying crumpled to her right. To her left were metal bars that protruded from the floor all the way up to the low ceiling. Realization dawned on her; she was in some kind of prison cell! The smell was undoubtedly coming from that sickly person next to her, so she crawled away, pressing her body against the cold metal bars.

"Looks like Sleeping Beauty is finally awake." Somebody chuckled in a very wispy voice.

Mimi grew terrified; there were more people in this prison cell. At first all she had seen were black stone walls around her, but as she took a closer look, she saw people siting and leaning against the walls, almost camouflaged by the darkness and misery.

"What a pleasant sleep you had, fair lady. Oh please do teach me how to sleep so peacefully as you did." Another raspy voice added in a wry tone.

Mimi led out an uncontrolled sob, "Where am I? What is this place?"

"Why, you are a prisoner of the Castle of the Undead." One voice answered.

"What did you do to get yourself into this pickle? Were you sneaking around the Forest of Woes? Messing with necromancy magic right under Apocalymon's nose?" Another voice queried.

Her lips just trembled. Her body ached, her _neck _ached, and all she could think about was, what indeed had she done to deserve being throwing into a dungeon like this? "What is the Castle of the Undead? I don't know why I'm here… I don't know what is going on." They chuckled and a thought struck her, "How long have I been unconscious for?"

One man counted with his long pointy fingers, "You were brought in a while back."

They shrugged. "Who knows, the passing of time is irrelevant in these dungeons. Don't you think my friend?"

"I count how many years I've been here by how many teeth have rotten and fallen out!" The two chortled quite fondly, but Mimi could not comprehend their mirth. In fact, she felt more miserable than ever.

The sound of a pair of boots reverberated from the other side of the dungeon, where the corner ended with a spiraled staircase that surely led to freedom. A red burning glow began to illuminate the stairs, and soon enough, as the footsteps drew nearer, the glow pooled over the dungeon floors and her prison cell. For a second Mimi had to screw her eyes shut as they adjusted to the new light. She opened her eyes to stare at the stranger and her heart got caught in her throat as she gazed upon the unforgettable appearance of the youth that walked in with the torch. This was the same youth she had seen back in her attic before fainting, this she knew without a doubt in her mind.

The two men that had been talking to her shrunk deeper into the cell, as far away from the youth and his source of light. In one hand he held a torch, which he placed on the rusty holder by the dungeon wall. His other hand held a bundle of fabrics and clinked with the collection of metal keys to the dungeon cells. The dungeon went deathly quiet as the brown haired youth unlocked the heavy padlock that kept the metal bars shut in place. It was as if all the prisoners cowered at the sight of him. Mimi felt a fool for not fearing him as well when she had seen him back in her home.

The heavy gate creaked loudly as it was swung open, his hard gaze on her. He didn't have to speak, she knew he wanted her, and she didn't care anymore that everyone else cowered at the sight of him, she would go, if it meant being on the other side of the metal bars. She struggled to get to her feet, her legs numb and weak from lack of use. Mimi stumbled as she stepped out to the other side of the cell. The stare he had on her unnerved her, and Mimi felt embarrassed having to use the metal bars for support as she steadied herself. She wanted to ask him what was going on, but all the while her words were stuck in the back of her throat.

The youth slammed the metal gate closed the moment she stepped out. He didn't waste any time in locking the padlock in place, delivering a sneer to the prisoners within before turning to her. He shoved the contents of the bundle of fabrics onto her hands and coldly commanded her to follow him.

"Those are your new clothes. You'll freeze to death here if you keep on wearing that little dress of yours. And bread. Eat. I won't have you collapse on my watch." The steps up the stairs seemed endless and in her weakened state Mimi struggled to keep up with his pace. Indeed, she was starving, the mention of food only making her stop for a second to unwrap the bundle. Her mouth watered in joy, relief, and hunger at the sight of the hard lump of bread. It was so old and stale she was only able to scrape the surface with her teeth.

Mimi was too busy with the bread to notice the youth angrily marching down the stairs. He roughly yanked her arm forward, his voice venom, "Keep up! I haven't got all day." Her knees buckled under her in surprise, and she held on to him for dear life, else she stumbled and fell down the spiral staircase, back to the dungeon from whence she came. There was a look of sheer alarm on his face the moment their skins made contact. He reacted in defense—as if she was trying to maim him—and in a blur pushed her against the stone wall behind her, his left hand clutching her throat and squeezing the life out of her.

She would have gasped loudly, but her chords were pressed shut by his grip. In the darkness she could feel his angry eyes searching hers, and she tugged on his wrist in desperation, but his grip was too strong, his posture too adamant.

"What did you do?" Mimi gagged in desperation, fat tears swelling in her eyes, and all she could do was shake her head as fervently as his grapple allowed, praying to the heavens that he wouldn't kill her then and there. She was confused; she had felt it as well, a surging, similar to what she felt whenever she gave light to her flowers. It had been brief and miniscule, but there all the same. It happened when their skins touched, but now, as his contact was overpowering her, she knew the surging had banished.

He was scowling when he released hold of her, pushing her off as if her skin seared his. Mimi crumpled to the stair flooring, all the while grasping her bruised throat and gasping for air. She could tell he was watching her struggle, and soon enough he was commanding her to keep going. "Get up. Or would you rather rot here in the dungeons?"

Mimi steadied herself against the moldy wall, hatred brewing deep within her. "You bastard. What gives you the right?" The look in his eyes told her he could stand there, indifferent and aloof, even if she ranted and screamed at his face for a hundred years.

"You are a prisoner of the Castle of the Undead. You have no rights."

Her heart skipped a beat at the cruelty in his words; really, what had she done to deserve this? She had been a prisoner of her life for as long as she could remember, but now it was different. Now it wouldn't be Euphratus giving her the broomstick beatings, now it would be this murderous youth with his venomous words.

"Why did you bring me here?" Her fingers gripped the indentations of the stone wall behind her as she waited in agonizing anticipation. A hundred scenarios materialized in her mind, each more gruesome than the last. He could want to use her in so many ways… kill her in so many ways…

"My master commanded me to."

"Who is your master?" She pressed herself against the wall even more, wishing she could banish through it and reemerge miles and miles away from this youth and his glaring eyes.

He ignored her apprehension and continued his way up the stairs before replying, "The Lord of the Castle of the Undead."

She followed him without question, more terrified that his patience would grow short and of what he was capable of doing. There was no other way around it, either, she could follow him or go back down to the dungeons, and the latter terrified her. The spiraled stairs ended at a studded oak door so heavy the youth had to push it open with both hands. Beyond it was a long hallway illuminated by torches of green flame, yet whenever Mimi walked by any of them, she could not feel the warmth that should be emanating from them; it was as if the green flames truly were not fire after all.

They walked past a labyrinth of hallways before beginning their ascend onto another set of stairs, all the while Mimi was ready to burst with questions about why she was here in the first place, and _where_ was here. She wanted to know who he was, what he wanted with her, but felt afraid of those hard eyes and that scowl. Another studded door led them to a wide, dusty foyer decorated in decrepit stone gargoyles, and it was there that the young man walked ahead of her towards a door guarded by two hunched figures.

The stench in the air should have warned her, but Mimi was too caught up in comprehending everything around her that she didn't detail the hunched figures in time. They turned and screeched and ran at her. Their eyes were bloodshot, with small bits of flesh missing here and there in their blue-purple faces. Their clothes, bloody and putrid, had holes that revealed rotting flesh, muscles, and broken bones.

Mimi backed away and nearly cried when she felt her back crash against the studded door, realizing she was trapped with the undead wights.

"_Enough_." Mimi couldn't have been gladder to hear the youth's infuriatingly calm voice. They stopped at once inches away from her, their stupid heads lolling back at his direction, waiting for his command.

"You are to guard the girl, not have her for dinner." The wights limped back to where they previously stood by the small wooden door, Mimi now fighting back the tears. Now she knew why this place was called Castle of the Undead.

"Don't mind them; they're here to make sure you don't go anywhere."

The thought of being guarded by two blood-thirsty zombies made Mimi wish she could stay in the dungeon cell after all. At least there her companions would be alive. "Please let me go." What would it take for her to convince him?

"_Come on_—" the youth said between gritted teeth, beckoning her, and Mimi moved before he pulled her forward himself.

The undead growled at her as she walked past the small door they guarded, their putrid smell overwhelming her nostrils. Goosebumps prickled her skin as she passed through, but the way the youth stopped in the darkness ahead of her told her beyond this door was their destination. Mimi watched, open mouthed, when he produced a fireball from the palm of his hand to light the hearth of a crumbling fireplace. The small wood splinters sizzled with the heat and a lighted glow filled the room; a warm orange glow much different to the iridescent lights from the torches upon the castle hallways.

She stood like a statue against the nearest wall, taking in the sight of the room before her. There was a small straw bed covered in grubby quilts facing the fireplace, a feeble chair stood in-between the straw bed and the stone wall, and high on the wall was a small window secured with metal bars, through which the moonlight trickled in, pooling over the sooty stones that were the floor and the dusty quilt that was the bedding. "What am I doing here?"

He took a step forward under the pooling moonlight. The light casted harsh shadows over his hair, under his eyes, and everywhere his clothes wrinkled. He looked terrible and ethereal all at the same time and it was then that the panic within her resurfaced all at once. "_This_ is your room."

Her eyes watered, "I mean, what am I doing in this castle? What does your master want with me?"

"I don't have to answer to you." He began walking towards the door and, despite her terror, Mimi almost grasped his arm to stop him, but he was quick to avoid her touch. The memory of his terrified reaction when their skins made contact back in the dungeon flashed through her mind.

"Take me back! You have no right to keep me here! What have I done?" She wanted to screech, to tear her hair out, tear _his _hair out, but could only stand there like a feeble fool, unable to take back her own freedom. "I'm just an orphaned baker's apprentice. I'm worth nothing, if ransom is what you want."

"That is exactly why you are here."

The tears on her eyes were on free fall at his response.

"This will be your room from now on. Be grateful I don't leave you to rot down in that dungeon. You're a baker's apprentice, you say? Well your stay here won't be for free either. You will work the kitchens, use your talents for something, I suppose." He paused, assuming for her to object, but Mimi just watched him, hatred in her eyes as the tears and the snot flowed down her cheeks and face. "I will show you to the kitchens."

"And what if I don't agree to this?" She took a deep breath, reluctant to let out a single sob in the presence of this heartless youth.

"You either walk with me, or I'll have the wights outside escort you." The ghost of a smirk found his lips. He held the door open for her, his expression stone while he waited, already knowing she would helplessly oblige. The wights stirred and grunted as Mimi walked past, all the while she hugged her arms close together to give herself what little comfort she could muster. It was in vain though; she felt naked and terrified and forlorn.

Once again he took the lead, and they descended down a menagerie of hallways and stairs, each more macabre than the last. She could tell this castle had once been quite magnificent, though now all that was left were its rotting remains. Dust covered the fantastic arches of marble and golden paint that decorated nearly every major door. The furniture, though quite visibly falling apart, had handcrafted cravings upon the wood, each with the same flowery emblem that looked out of place in a setting such as this. Portraits of ancient men and women lined the walls, the paint faded and the framework splintery. Dead bugs and never-ending networks of cobwebs filled the crevices in every corner and ceiling. And some halls were heavy with the musk of dust, but others appalled her with the putrid stench of rotting flesh.

Everywhere they went, Mimi felt eyes following her. She felt herself being followed, observed by unseen forces, and couldn't help but walk closer and closer to the youth—him being the only thing she was certain was alive around her. She would turn to look behind her and the emptiness and the silence was all there was, yet she couldn't shake the feeling.

The most terrifying part of the castle, though, were the undead wights. They stood around corners and guarded secret doors in the same fashion empty suits of armor stood guard in castles. They sneered and growled whenever Mimi and the youth walked past, their bloodshot eyes sizing her up hungrily. She knew they guarded the castle as much as they guarded the prisoners, and as much as they guarded her.

Mimi followed him through a long passageway decorated with tall, arched windows that overlooked dead fields and a black forest. She hugged the wall opposite as she went, afraid a gust of the moaning wind would push her off the castle walls down to her death. She could see from high above that the grounds were also infested with the wights. They aimlessly treaded the grounds back and forth, surely coursing an endless walk through the world of the living.

The passageway ended at a shabby door that opened to a spiraled staircase filled with the fumes of cooking food and sounds of bustling pans and pots. Mimi was momentarily surprised, though she shouldn't have been; this castle had living people as well, she was sure, which would require feeding normal, human food. Humans and Dejimon in dirty roughspun rags tended the kitchens. They chopped vegetables and kneaded bread and stirred giant iron cauldrons that sizzled with delicious vapors, making Mimi's stomach grumble quite audibly.

The kitchen eventually went quiet while Mimi and the youth stood by the elevated door. They faced him, some of them noticeably apprehensive of his presence. "She will be the new addition to the kitchen." He stated loudly once the last boiling pot ceased to stir and the entire cooking staff's attention was on him. "She is to help around as you see fit," this he told to the burly man with the dirty mustache and the crooked chef's hat; he must have been the one in charge. "But she is here primarily for Lord Apocalymon, so don't wear her out and make her useless." He paused as his dark gaze scanned the people before him, his eyes menacing and calculating. "That is all; go back to your duties." There was a low grumble of disagreement within the crowd and Mimi could only stand there while they judged her with their harsh stares. The youth spared her one last glance before retreating back up the stairs and as soon as he was gone the kitchenry dispersed back to their business.

The burly cook didn't waste a second before shoving her over to a short Dejimon that was shrouded in the shadows of a massive pile of dirty potatoes. "Palmon, she is yours. Make some use of her."

The Dejimon looked startled at first, but her big, black eyes rounded in such a friendly way that Mimi was glad she was finally dumped and left alone by the potatoes. "Hi… I'm Mimi…" The girl extended her hand out, amazed of the vines that wrapped around her palm and wrist as they shook hands; never before in her life had Mimi seen a Dejimon such as her.

Palmon's skin was a deep green, rich as the leaves in shrubbery during rainy season. Mimi felt the slick, plant-like texture of her skin when they shook hands, and atop her head was a massive fuchsia lily, the petals worn and torn at the ends. She was a living, walking, talking plant in the flesh.

"I'm Palmon, the potato peeler…" There was a hint of humor in her voice, slightly lightening Mimi's spirit.

Mimi was about to tell her how she'd never seen a Dejimon quite like herself when a brute of a man bumped into her by accident. She was pushed forward to the potatoes where she crashed, the dirty tubers tumbling down onto her head and body. The man didn't bother to extent his apologies, and he scurried away with a pot in his hands as if nothing happened. Mimi laid there, crumpled and defeated, and finally felt the sting of fat tears swelling in her eyes. She felt defeated. She felt alone, in a foreign castle full of hostile inhabitants and, as she laid there within the potatoes, decided she would finally let the tears unfold.

Palmon took her by surprise, wrapping her in vines that stretched out from her fingertips, like magic, and withdrawing Mimi's defeated form from the pile. "_Hey_, don't cry," she soothed her in a lovely voice as they tumbled awkwardly to the nearest corner, Mimi unable to hold back the tears any longer.

"I know, it's hard when you first come here, but you have to toughen up, or else the castle alone will kill you." Palmon patted her brown curls but Mimi only sobbed harder.

"Come on now. You don't want to die, do you?" This she said in a solemn tone.

Her eyes bore deeply into her and suddenly Mimi felt a fool for breaking down in tears. _I just want a reprieve_, was all she could think to herself. "I don't want to die."

"Good! Then you won't!" Her enthusiasm puzzled Mimi. How could she feel content in a place such as this? She thought about the prisoners in the dungeon cell and about their puzzling amusement. "Mimi… that's a pretty name—"

"What does the Lord of the Castle of the Undead want with me?"

Palmon tsk'ed. "I don't know silly. And probably you won't find out, until it's too late."

Mimi's stomach dropped a little, but really, she had been ready to retch since the moment she woke up in that cell. "If I ask that man that brought me, will he tell me?"

The plant Dejimon was immediately alarmed. "_Oh no no no no_. Stay away from Taichi—"

"_Taichi?_" The name rolled out of her mouth as if, oddly enough, it belonged to do so.

"Taichi is Lord Apocalymon's right-hand man. He is twisted and cursed, and he lives to please the lord, no matter how cruel and wicked he has to be. If you really want to live, you ought to avoid him at all costs."

By now Mimi's tears had subsided. From the sound of it, she had already seen the worst. "How do I stay alive, Palmon?" _And sane_.

"You peel the potatoes, fetch and take the food to where it needs to go, never resist the lord, keep away from Taichi and Yamato—both are Lord Apocalymon's lackeys—and never test the undead wights, because they _will_ bite."

Mimi could only sigh deeply as she leaned against the cold stone wall. Palmon made it sound so easy, but what she really wanted was her freedom.

* * *

Please leave a review :).


	3. Apocalymon's Sunlight

'

_Act I: "Written in the Stars"_

**~~~ooooo~~~**

**Chapter II: Apocalymon's Sunlight**

The universe was playing a twisted joke on him, he was sure. His mind, too, tormented him with the surging memories of his dreams; the dreams in which _she_ never ceased to turn up. It had all started the day Lord Apocalymon ordered him to her. It was merely an assignment, just like the many other occasions when he has had to obey his lord's bidding. He was to kidnap the girl and bring her to his master, yet he never imagined she would end up haunting his every sleeping moment.

Taichi couldn't remember the last dream he had had before that night, and ever since then, his dreams were plagued with the same scorching sunlight, those same urges to fly out at the sun, and most importantly, the same girl with the honey hair and captivating smile. But the worst part, out of all the annoying things that could happen to him in his present situation, was that the girl in his dreams wasn't entirely a fragment of his imagination. She was a living, breathing, human girl that now lived under the same roof as him. And his interaction with her was surely to multiply tenfold now that his master had appointed him to her.

The small castle staff bowed profoundly at the foot of the stairs when the giant double doors of the foyer opened for the Lord of the Undead. Taichi watched them, unamused, from his spot at the top of the stairs that led to the entrance hall of the Castle of the Undead. It was not yet his turn to bow down till his nose touched the dusty floor, so he watched in contempt as his master barked commands at the two servant cottars that were in charge of the wagon bringing in food from the outside world into the castle.

Every fortnight the two cottars left the prison that was the castle and went out to neighboring markets to haggle for rotten crops and hand-me-down herd animals. And every fortnight they crossed the Forest of Woes escorted by Lord Apocalymon's wights, and traveled down Belisse Road to the nearest settlements. They were one of the few lucky allowed to leave the castle every so often, but Taichi knew the reason was because they, too, just like Yamato and himself, had the lord's curse upon them.

The staff was allowed to rise once again, and they quickly dispersed as they took the food up to be taken to the pantry and larder. Lord Apocalymon's dark, long robes swooshed under him as he strolled up the stairs towards Taichi. Taichi bowed down low before it was too late, his face inches away from the necromancer's boots.

"_Rise, boy_." Lord Apocalymon was easily two heads taller than Taichi, and his face looked more morbid than ever up close, his skin pale and gaunt to the bones. "Did you get the girl?"

Asking was unnecessary; Taichi's life and well-being depended on whether or not he obeyed his master. "Of course, my lord."

"Then fetch her. I will be in my throne room." The necromancer swept past Taichi and in several long strides disappeared deep into the castles halls.

Taichi was profusely irritated for being treated as a mere messenger boy. He sneered at the common folk still carrying the food supplies away before also losing himself in the collection of stairs and hallways that would take him to the girl. He was the lord's protégé, not a courier; he shouldn't have to be the one walking her around. Taichi nevertheless complied.

The distorted version of Mimi from his dreams flashed across his thoughts as he climbed up the sooty stairs, and Taichi couldn't help but feel fascinated. In all truthfulness, he would be lying if he said he wasn't the least curious about her. But that curiosity would be something he would never be able to satiate. The girl belonged to Lord Apocalymon now, and she was about to become a wight herself for all he knew about his master's plan.

Instead of standing guard right outside the girl's door, like they were instructed to, the two wights that inhabited Mimi's foyer dwindled by the broken furniture, their lifeless expressions drooling bouts of rotted blood and saliva. His presence alerted them, and they struggled with their lethargic limbs to stand up straight as Taichi walked by. If he were anybody else, the stench would have appalled him, but Taichi was used to Lord Apocalymon's wights and all that came with their existence.

He knocked once, to allow her some privacy, and his keen ears picked up a soft rustling from the other side of the door. Taichi lingered while he waited for the invitation that never came, so he allowed himself into the room. The girl stood, alarmed, by the opposite wall. Her countenance relaxed at the sight of him; perhaps she had been expecting something worse.

The girl from his dreams was prettier, he had to admit. Her hair shone and her flawless skin glistened with the sunlight, whereas the girl in front of him looked pale, terrified, emaciated—dirty even. The audacity in her stare was something foreign to him, for all the other castle servants cowered at his sight; maybe he ought to teach her a lesson she would never forget. "The lord summons you," this he said with a nonchalant calmness, as if she was not about to meet her death at the hands of his master.

She gulped loudly, "Am I allowed to reject his invitation?"

"No." He turned and began walking away, fully aware that she would obediently follow him.

Much like they did the day he introduced her to the kitchen staff, Taichi led Mimi through the stone halls of the castle, only that this time he took her up to the main keep, where the iridescent torches illuminated the way. He walked fast, making sure to keep his distance with her. He would avoid her touch at all costs, else what happened in the dungeon stairs repeated itself once again.

The ancient double doors leading to his master's throne room were wide open, allowing the echoed voices of Lord Apocalymon and Yamato reach the hall outside. Taichi turned, suddenly, upon realizing the girl's footsteps behind him dwindling down. She had stopped and was visibly trembling. Taichi could only curse himself inwardly; he'd be damned if he had to drag her inside. If he did, their skins would touch and that surging feeling would happen again, and right under Lord Apocalymon's crooked nose.

"Come now. It will only be worse if you make him wait—" Taichi was interrupted by the lord's booming cackles following something Yamato had said.

"What will he do?" She was a fool for thinking he was on her side. The thought annoyed him.

"_Look_, I don't know or care what he wants with you—_get in there_," this he said in-between gritted teeth, _hoping _that she would oblige and he wouldn't have to lay a finger on her.

She took a deep breath, nodded bravely, and followed him into the throne room. The Lord of the Undead and his werewolf servant went quiet at the sight of them entering. Taichi bowed to his master by the foot of the elevation where his stone throne was mounted, saying, "My lord, the girl as you requested."

Lord Apocalymon immediately lost interest in his two lackeys and was onto the girl in several swooshing steps. He easily towered her, and Taichi watched with the smallest droplet of pity as she cowered at the up-close sight of the lord. Indeed, he was terrifying—a thing of children's nightmares. He ran his sharp fingertips along her cheeks, leaving red marks in their wake, and the girl could only screw her eyes shut in terror, tears now falling freely down her cheeks.

"What are you…" her whispered words were almost lost in the castle sounds of the moaning wind and the grunting wights. She stepped back cautiously, and he only stepped forward, so the distance between them never increased.

Soon the lord was angered by her insolence. His hand shot forward and he effortlessly lifted her up by the neck with one pointy hand, making her flail wildly in all directions, helplessly trying to free herself from his grasp. If the lord kept this up he was sure to kill her, and that would be a waste. "You insolent child, you are filled with magic, did you know?" He mocked her, his face dangerously close to hers as he continued to hold her up. Her flailing legs landed a kick or two on his chest, but the lord was never once bothered.

Finally, when her face began to turn purple, he tossed her onto the floor, where she fell in a crumpled heap. "That magic is now mine, and I will squeeze you out of it to the last droplet, until all that is left of you is a shriveled, emaciated, mangled corpse. _Then_, you will join my army of undead."

Once the air was back in her, she said between snooty sobs, "Please let me go, you can't—you can't—"

"What's that?" His golden eyes glistened in malice. He kneeled next to her cowering form, readily invading her personal space. "_I can't do that to you_? But that is where you are incorrect, _flowerborn_. You are in my castle, which means you belong to me, and there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop me."

She only shook her head, but the lord would have none of that, "Would you like me help you understand?"

"Get away!" Mimi was about to shove him off, but the Dejimon was quicker, and he quickly grasped her hand before it came in contact with his body. His other hand squeezed her throat and at that instant he rose high up to his feet, gracefully almost, bringing her up with him. This grip he had on her was tighter, making her body still out of sheer fright.

Taichi watched in terrifying awe as Lord Apocalymon hovered his free hand over the girl's mouth, which gaped open as it tried to take in whatever small gulps of breath she could muster, and slowly began pulling out of her a golden substance that materialized itself with his movements. His hand went round in circles over her mouth, pulling and pulling and_ pulling_ the wispy material that surged from her open mouth and into his palm. He was draining her of her magic.

Taichi was now sure what he had felt back in the dungeons hadn't been a fragment of his imagination. That same magic had surged through to him with her touch. It had filled him with a foreign warmth, a warmth that had scared him into attacking her and pushing her against that wall. Half of him wished the lord would suck her dry then and there, for he was terrified of her magic, so that he wouldn't have to come in contact with her once again, but it looked like the Dejimon had different plans.

Eventually Lord Apocalymon released his grip on her, and the girl fell half-unconscious onto the cold stone floor. There was a moment in which the lord stood there, his eyes closed as he inhaled profoundly, surely enjoying the power that was now streaming through him. Taichi exchanged a glance with Yamato, and the warg, too, had a disgusted expression upon his face.

His eyes traveled down to the girl crumpled by Lord Apocalymon's feet. Her eyes had finally opened, but they stared out at the floor aimlessly, like there was really nothing inside her. Her small hands slowly crept to her face and hair and she grasped her head as if overtaken by a terrible headache. Taichi felt awkward, watching his master relish on the delight of her powers while she laid half dead on the ground.

The moment was over as soon as it started, and the lord soon turned his attention back to his protégés. "Well done, Taichi. Turns out we do have the flowerborn with us, right in the flesh—she isn't useless after all. Now take her back and make sure she recuperates. I don't plan her to die just yet. I'm going to harvest that power until there is nothing left." There was a pause between them that only fueled his explosive temper. "_Now_. And the both of you get out of my sight!"

Yamato bowed profoundly before waltzing out of the throne room without a last word. Taichi almost hesitated, afraid to touch her once again, but at the sight of her broken countenance he felt a fool for being afraid of such a defenseless girl. He knelt next to her and was about to pick her up when her honey eyes met his. Her bloodshot eyes locked onto his gaze and she didn't hesitate before giving him her hand. He grasped it, inwardly celebrated that there was nothing left of her magic to flow through to him, and helped her to her feet.

Taichi felt Lord Apocalymon's gaze on him while he waited for the girl to steady herself by his side. Her hands were massaging her bruised neck as she walked ahead of him out of the throne room, eager to leave the Dejimon's presence. He slowly walked behind her, curious of how she treaded the hallways without an inkling of how to get back to her room.

Eventually she stopped in the outside hallway and leant against a wall to steady herself. One hand covered half her face while she whispered, "I don't want to do this anymore."

Taichi was annoyed of her naïveté, of her hopeful sincerity. No one here got to do what they wanted, why should she be any different? He ignored her until she faced him fully, her doleful eyes daring him to take pity on her, "I don't deserve this."

He drew nearer, towering over her feeble form, and told her in a cruel tone, "When are you going to realize your life is over? Your only purpose of staying alive is because the lord wants you to. You're just a sheep surrounded by wolves; you are food and food has no rights."

Her gaze, too, chilled in angry insolence, "So if I die, it'll be on you, correct?" There was a small twitch at the corner of his left eye. "Your lord will be very displeased with you if anything were to happen to me, wouldn't he?"

He only got closer until he had her trapped between the stone wall and himself. His heart raced as he weighed his options. He wanted to scare her into submission, but something about the look in her eyes prevented him from doing so. He felt as if he was as scared of her and she was of him. It was an irrational fear, as irrational as the urging feeling in his dreams to fly up to the sun with the honey maiden in his arms.

"Don't be a fool," was all he could lamely muster. She looked fresh and hopeful, despite her threatening act, so he doubted she would ever attempt against her own life. He supposed he ought to give her time, she had been in the castle for merely a week; the hope of someday regaining her freedom was probably still burning strong inside her.

The castle was particularly quiet as they treaded back to her bedroom. She walked slowly behind him, undoubtedly still shaken from her encounter with the lord of the castle. The still silence was only occasionally broken by the clunking sound of his boots and her ragged breathing as they descend down the hallways and stairs towards her room and away from the main keep, so Taichi was surprised when she addressed him after a long while.

"What's in it for you?" Mimi walked a little faster, trying to catch a sideways glimpse of his impassive countenance. "Why do you do everything he tells you?"

Taichi stopped by the studded doors of her foyer, his jaw clenched. She was naïve and stupid, so he hardly bothered to give her a proper answer, "You and I are not the same. Never forget that."

"He's a monster!"

_And so am I_.

Taichi held the door open for her, but once he realized she would rather stand still by the other side waiting for his rebuttal, he stepped through and released hold of the heavy door. She clumsily tried passing through after him but wasn't quick enough and the door slammed into her, pinning her against the door frame.

She gasped in pain and helplessness while her feeble frame struggled with the door, and Taichi couldn't stop the smirk that crept to his features. She eventually passed through, the color in her cheeks returning for the first time since her engagement with Lord Apocalymon. Eventually Mimi straightened her woolen gown, her dirty cheeks red, and asked in reproach, "Why do you act like his puppet? Why do everything he tells you?"

Taichi contemplated letting the wights in her foyer loose on her, to teach her a lesson, but instead responded with cold indifference. He wouldn't have to do anything for now, soon enough her spirit would break; soon enough she would be forced to accept the fact that her life as she knew it had come to an end. She was here to feed Lord Apocalymon with her magic, for nothing else.

"If the lord requires your presence I will find you. There is nowhere to hide in this castle. The castle and I are as one; I can feel where everyone is and what everyone is doing. You'd be wise to remember that."

Mimi stood by the door to her room, biting her lip as she watched him go. He could tell there was something she was bursting to say, but he left before the words left her mouth, deciding he had had enough of her for one day.

**~~~ooooo~~~**

Mimi sat with the skirt of her dress under her legs in the dusty kitchen floor, her hands brown and cut from peeling so many potatoes. Her fingers had small cuts that bled droplets of crimson blood onto the potatoes as she hastened to peel them all, and in her rush she kept cutting her skin again and again. It was alright if she smeared them with blood, Mimi soon realized, for Palmon was in charge of washing them before tossing them inside the sack of the potatoes to be boiled.

Dinner time was particularly chaotic in the kitchen, for it was the only meal servants were allowed to eat, so the amount of food to be prepared tripled in quantity. The menu for today included the usual buttered potatoes and a medley of vegetables and pork thrown in together in a stew. The vegetables were already brewing by the center of the kitchen hearth in a giant iron cauldron, and the smells made Mimi's stomach protest quite loudly. She waited eagerly for mealtime, but knew that she would only be allowed to eat the leftover potatoes, as she was new in the kitchen and, according to the head cook, needed to "earn her keep."

The kitchen was merrier than any other place in the castle; the hearth kept the space warm, and the servants were jovial enough while they cooked and cleaned to make the atmosphere feel welcoming. They entertained themselves with a song Mimi was now beginning to learn by heart, from all the times they sung it.

The burly head cook always started the commotion, singing in a soft voice while he stirred his massive iron cauldron, "_The Palace of Weisse, so tall so blue._"

One by one the other cook assistants began to sing as well, "_Tall as the sky, from afar you'll rue_."

A few hummed, while others beat ladles to their pans to the beat of the song. "_The fair Princess Culla, lived happy in flair_!" This was her favorite part, and the jolliest, too.

"_Until stable boy Destan, her heart he snared_," by this point the entire kitchenry joined in the singing, their voices broken and dissonant, but they nevertheless merrily sang the lyrics while they tended their duties.

"_The devil surged forward, her flair now destroyed_," this part Mimi knew, and she sang along quietly, her thoughts trailing as she pictured the story the song was telling. And as soon as the song ended, they went at it again, and this time Mimi was bold enough to sing along with the staff,

"The Palace of Weisse, so tall so blue

Tall as the sky, from afar you'll rue

The fair Princess Culla, lived happy in flair

Until stable boy Destan, her heart he snared

Their laughs echoed high, but only a fortnight

For the evil that lurked, its envy didn't hide

And split fair Culla, from her honest stable boy

The devil surged forward, her flair now destroyed

The Palace of Weisse, no longer so blue

Now dark and soulless, from afar you'll still rue"

The song preoccupied her for the remainder of the afternoon, and before she knew it, the sack of peeled potatoes had filled, and Palmon heaved it with her magical vines and took it to the two cutter boys. The night carried on as normal, the servants had their pork and vegetable medley for dinner while Mimi was given a small plate with buttered potatoes and a piece of hard bread. And this time the head cook was kind enough to pass her a nearly empty flagon of sweet wine to pass the food.

The song stuck to her head after so much repetition that she hummed it while she filled her belly with what little food they had given her. Palmon had left a while ago; she was supposed to take food up to the main keep, and Mimi could only wonder who else besides Apocalymon, Taichi, and Yamato was served by the servants and lived in the castle. "_The Palace of Weisse, so tall so blue_," Mimi sung in a low voice once she left the kitchen and treaded down the long, windowed passageway that connected the main keep, which housed the kitchen, pantry, and larder, to the west tower, where her room was located.

The Castle of the Undead was a majestic thing of stone and marble that one could easily get lost in, but Mimi quickly learned routes to the places that mattered, such as her bedroom and foyer, the privy, and the kitchen. There were several other passageways, too, with magnificently arched marble windows connecting the main keep with the west, east, north, and south towers. She slowly began to get used to the wights that crowded the space, and if she really wanted to, she could even ignore the feeling of unknown forces watching her as she made her way hither and thither.

The worst part of the castle though, by far, was that no matter what time of the day it was, the castle and everywhere she looked remained shrouded in a black night, illuminated only by a full moon that glared down at her anytime she was bold enough to look up. This she didn't realize at first, for Mimi simply assumed that it had been nighttime when Taichi took her out of the dungeon and showed her to the kitchens. She even tried to convince herself that she just kept waking up during the night, and that she was always somehow asleep during the day, but realization eventually dawned on her. The clocks weren't broken, _the sky was_. Mimi soon asked Palmon, and the plant Dejimon could only smile sadly as she told her, "The sun never rises in the Castle of the Undead, not ever since Princess Culla eloped with her beloved." But they were ushered back to peel the potatoes before Mimi could ask her to elaborate.

One day she dared to explore the castle and familiarize herself with the many halls and passages. She discovered an abandoned music room connected to a dining hall with walls lined in the ragged tapestries of ancient lords and ladies. She went by a dark cellar that rotted in forgotten alchemy materials, and was saddened when she came into a bedchamber's solar that had wardrobes filled with fine silk dresses, all eaten away by bugs and stained beyond repair. There were hundreds of rooms, each more broken than the last, and in her wanderings she stumbled upon two massive doors that opened to a library shrouded in dust and darkness.

Instead of going to her room after supper, her feet took her to that mysterious library once again. The door was stuck when she tried to pry it ajar, so Mimi had to push with all her strength to get them to open. She did a double take, grabbing a torch from the hallway before entering the darkness. Mimi only took a couple steps forward before being overtaken by bouts of uncontrollable sneezes. She doubled over in sneezes, and when her eyes finally opened the first thing she saw made her scream and jump back, knocking against a misplaced chair and falling to her bottoms painfully. Mimi snatched up the torch that fell from her grasp before it caught anything afire; thankfully it had landed on cold stone.

She had seen blue, beady eyes staring at her from a smoky, iridescent body. Mimi rubbed her eyelids, hoping it had been her imagination, but the iridescent being knelt in front of her once again, bringing his face up close to hers as it did when she first came into the library. "A human mortal treads into my territory," his voice, too, was as wispy as his body.

Mimi pushed her body away fervently, terrified of his proximity. "I'm sorry, I'll leave—"

"No, girl, you will stay."

She only gulped. She could feel the warmth leaving her body, as if this ghost were sucking away all her heat. Her heart dropped when she felt a hard wooden object against her back, preventing her from moving away any further. The ghost only slithered closer and closer, invading her personal space, until their faces were centimeters apart.

"Only the Dejimon visit my library. Humans are too illiterate to care about the literature my books have to offer."

"I care…" she whispered shakily, hoping to appease the anger in those watery eyes.

"_Precisely_!" He howled and rose up to his feet, backing off towards the bookcases. The hooded robe he wore was as see-through as the rest of his body, and on his pale forehead was a silver skull helmet that almost glistened with the torch's fire. Upon closer inspection Mimi realized that his legs banished off into nothingness, so she couldn't see the feet with which he treaded. "What sparks your interest?" His booming voice startled her, and he began waving his arms left and right, making some of the books in the bookshelves fly out and crash against the wall and furniture. "Want to know about Mad Queen Vargr's madness? Or about the extinct demihumans? About Port Marabecca's slave auctioneers? Dare to read about necromancy yourself?" He did a double take and rounded on her in the blink of an eye, "Or mayhaps about selfish Princess Culla and her stable boy?"

Mimi stammered like a fool, shocked at his erratic behavior, "P—Princess—Princess Culla."

He withdrew suddenly and told her in a solemn voice, "I am the librarian of the Castle of the Undead, and your wish is my command." The ghost disappeared into the depths of the library, giving Mimi a reprieve to stand back up and straighten her ruffled clothes. He returned moments later, a slim book hovering in front of him, elevated by his telepathy. The book hovered in-between them, those beady eyes of him hopeful for her to take it.

She immediately felt sorry for him and hesitated before accepting the book. She expected something terrible to happen once she took it in her hands, but realized all he wanted was her to take and read the right book. Mimi exhaled loudly in relief as the dusty book was deposited in her open hands, "Thank you."

"It is only my job."

He moved away, deeper into the library, and before he could disappear out of sight Mimi blurted out, "What is your name?"

"I am the shade of the late Andromon. I am merely a librarian, nothing more," this he said sadly as he floated through wooden book cases, unfazed by the physical obstacles around him.

Mimi made her way deeper into the library until she found an oak table and chair that looked like they weren't about to crumble away with her weight. Much to her benefit, the table was placed next to a vast window that allowed the glaring moonlight to pass through. Her footsteps echoed loudly as she wandered around for a few candles to place on the table and aid her reading. For the first time ever during her short stay at the Castle of the Undead, Mimi felt eager and engaged in something. She wanted to sit down and read the book and find out the selfish princess, and perhaps later on about the Mad Queen and the demihumans and Port Marabecca and Necromancy. It was all here, and all she had to do was ask the doleful librarian and take in all the knowledge this ghoulish library was willing to offer.

"_The Lovely Tragedy of The Palace of Weisse_ by Kalfdurr the Illustrious," Mimi read the cover aloud before opening the first page. It was a picture book, with faded illustrations of a blue palace and a black-haired princess. She was drawn many times in dresses of different colors and alternating jewels, and the book repeated itself over and over emphasizing just how much the castle subjects loved their benevolent princess.

_The fairest Princess Culla was born under a glorious midsummer night, and with the full moon shinning on her black hair she became an heiress_, Mimi read to herself, fascinated with the pictures and with Kalfdurr's narration. The princess fell in love with Destan, a stable boy that tended to her palfrey, and the story continued on with Destan's feats of winning her mother's and father's favor. Eventually love conquered all, and the Princess and her stable boy left the palace in a silver carriage to be married by the king and queen. Mimi expected a happy ending, so she was surprised when she turned the page and suddenly all of Kalfdurr's drawing were dark and macabre. _The enamored princess didn't realize she was a protector of the good, and with her gone, an evil necromancer rose and claimed the palace with everything and everyone inside it_, a hooded character was introduced to the story. His magic turned people into wights and everything that was good and beautiful was left to rot.

The last pages were torn out, so Mimi had no other choice but to close the book in amazement. This wasn't a fable after all, otherwise why would the kitchenry sing the song over and over with so much mirth? Palmon's words echoed in her mind, _the sun never rises in the Castle of the Undead, not ever since Princess Culla eloped with her beloved_. The Castle of the Undead _was_ The Palace of Weisse, before Apocalymon took over; Mimi would bet her last coin on it.

A chill went through her, and as she sat there Mimi realized she actually felt shriveled from the lack of sunlight. Like a flower needed the sun, she felt herself wilting on the inside. She thought of Euphratus, and if the woman ever cared that Mimi suddenly disappeared. She probably minded, but only because she now wouldn't have anyone to do the cleaning for her. How would she ever reclaim her freedom? Mimi did not know.

She left the chair and stood by the long window. The glass was smudged and hard to see through, but Mimi cleaned a circle on it with the sleeves of her gown. The grounds teemed with Apocalymon's wights, some rode undead horses in silent patrols, while others stood guard by the heavy iron gates of the castle grounds. Getting away seemed impossible, and the thought of being caught and inciting Apocalymon's wrath made the hairs in her forearms stand on end.

A still figure down in the grounds caught her eyes. Mimi realized it was a lonely scarecrow standing in the middle of an empty field. The earth around it was dead and infertile, so why should it still require a scarecrow? Looking down at the scarecrow made her feel downright miserable. She wondered what it would feel like, to be alone in a field of nothingness. Would she ever end up like that? After Apocalymon had sucked the life out of her? Or would she become nothingness herself?

The faraway sounds of the library door opening reached her. "You are treading on my territory, mortal!" The librarian's booming voice snapped Mimi out of her reverie as he welcomed yet another visitor in his eccentric way.

"Piss off." A harsh voice retorted in indifference.

Mimi turned, suddenly aware of the heavy footsteps that made their way closer and closer to her. In an instant she knew. Taichi found her, and his face scowled at the sight of her. "I told you, there is nowhere to hide in this castle."

"I wasn't trying to hide." Mimi knew what his presence meant, and she hated him all the more for it.

"The lord beckons."

Mimi didn't know what to make of the distance between them. She was half expecting him to drag her out of the library by the hair, but instead he stopped a little ways away from her. Her heart raced, the memories of her previous encounter with Lord Apocalymon still fresh in her mind. She swallowed hard and decided to spare them both—the sooner she got this over with, the better—and so she reluctantly followed Taichi out of the castle library.

A tense silence settled between them as they took the same hallways to the throne room. Mimi glared at the back of his head, where his unkempt brown hair stuck out at odd angles. She wondered if he was also a prisoner of Apocalymon, and if he were, would she be able to negotiate with him to make an escape? She didn't trust him enough to dare to make a mention about it just yet though.

"If you're so important to Apocalymon then why do you have to be the one to take me to him every time?" The words left her mouth before she had a chance to register them.

He stopped for a second by the torn tapestry of a massive woman in a golden crown, his face slowly turning in clear impatience. The green light of a nearby torch reflected upon his skin, and for the first time ever Mimi took notice of just how handsome he looked with his unkempt hair and that small fuzz of facial hair by the side of cheeks and chin. Even with that terrible frown of his and those unfriendly eyes, he looked quite extraordinary. "You're easily becoming the most annoying human to ever set foot on this castle," he said in-between gritted teeth. "Would you rather the undead escort you?"

She knew the answer to that without a doubt in her mind. "So I should be thanking you for your kindness?"

Taichi turned and continued leading the way. "No. You can thank the lord for being so kind to you. Don't pretend that I come to you out of the kindness of my heart," this he said with a contemptuous snort.

He was proving harder to get to, she quickly realized. Half of her wanted nothing to do with him, yet the other half of her couldn't help but feel like he was the only thing close to normalcy in this haunted castle with its undead wights and Dejimon workers. Mimi sped up to walk side by side next to him. She pushed for answers, asking him how he became Apocalymon's lackey and asking him if he knew what power she harbored, but he ignored her every attempt. It didn't take her long to learn that Taichi was a master at playing the ignoring game. He kept his distance to her though, making her grow bold and insolent. She quickly began to fabricate the idea that Apocalymon himself told Taichi not to lay a single finger on her.

There was hesitation in her eyes when they reached the ancient double doors of Apocalymon's throne room but, as usual, Taichi didn't take heed and proceeded inside. He walked all the way to the majestic Dejimon that sat with his head resting on his fist on the stone throne. Taichi bowed down and said, "The girl is here, my lord."

"Rise."

Taichi stood next to his master and Mimi gingerly walked closer, keeping a safe distance from the Dejimon. The wights in the room turned their bloodshot gazes at her, making Mimi feel very self-aware—apprehensive even. She felt a fool for peacefully following Taichi here. They weren't her friends, they wanted to consume her; the lord, especially.

"Flowerborn, be a good girl and come give me your light."

She stood rooted to the spot, her heart pumping a hole through her chest. This madman kept calling her flowerborn, but she was just a baker's apprentice. Suddenly she wanted to run, but knew the wights would be on her in an instant.

"_I said, come give me your light_!" Lord Apocalymon's bark made her jump slightly, yet she couldn't bring herself to move a muscle. Her eyes met with Taichi's, her insides begging for the slightest reassurance, but his expression remained stone cold and impassive.

Her hesitation angered the lord. He rose to his feet and with one wave of his hand said, "Bring her to me." The wights all screeched in delight and jumped at her. Mimi screamed in terror as their broken hands and bloody fingernails grappled at her, dragging her forward as she fought with all her might. The stench of their proximity made her eyes tear up as she gagged a thousand times, but there was nothing in her stomach to retch out.

They dumped her on the stone ground by Apocalymon's feet. Mimi felt her body being elevated from the ground at the wave of Apocalymon's hand; he was magically lifting her up until she was at eye level with his tall, terrible form. A small tear fell down her cheek and down to the floor as she whispered in helpless desperation, "Please, let me go."

"When will she learn her lesson?" Apocalymon wondered aloud, his eyes momentarily turning to his lackey, who stood silent like a statue by his side.

Mimi's watery honeys turned to Taichi. He returned her stare for the slightest second before looking away, and for the first time ever Mimi saw a speckle of shame and guilt upon those brown eyes of his, and suddenly he didn't look so hard and severe anymore. Mimi would have cried out for him, but knew he had no power against the Lord of the Castle of the Undead.

Her reprieve was gone as soon as it had come. Apocalymon lifted his other hand over her and Mimi felt that emptying sensation on her insides for the second time. She couldn't stop Apocalymon's magic from forcing her mouth open and suddenly everything that was good and warm left her through her opened lips. Her tears were on freefall when the golden substance surged out of her and into Apocalymon's hand. Cold chills swept through her, as if she had been thrown into frigid water. The light left her body in nauseating waves until she felt like all that was left of her was skin and bones.

Once satisfied, Apocalymon let her fall hard to the ground, and Mimi felt her ankles twist painfully upon contact with the floor in her weakened state. Her body hugged the stone that was the ground as she breathed madly for blissful air, the nauseating feeling never once leaving her. "Get her out of here," she heard faintly, as if Apocalymon and Taichi were acres and acres away. Hard footsteps followed, until someone knelt next to her.

She was so cold Taichi's distant body heat felt like heaven. The eyes she met weren't stone cold anymore. There was something warmer to his impassiveness this time, and Mimi would have given him her hand, but lacked the strength to lift a single finger. It wasn't necessary, she soon realized, for he lifted her up as if she was a bundle of clothes. Her cold fingers grabbed as much as she could of him, his skin starkly warm to her cold touch. Mimi didn't know if she was supposed to thank him or loathe him, but inadvertently felt herself growing safe in his arms.

Silence reigned between them while he carried her to her bedroom. His body never once trembled or hesitated, making Mimi feel as if she was light as a feather to him. He unceremoniously dropped her onto her straw bedding, and she would have rolled over to give him one last pitying glance before he left her to her darkness, but her body felt heavier than lead. This was when the terrifying realization began to dawn on her. She was going to die in this castle, this she now knew without a doubt in her mind.

* * *

Please leave a review :).


	4. The Moon Tower

Author's Note: I hope you are enjoying the story :). Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

* * *

_Act I: "Written in the Stars"_

**~~~ooooo~~~**

**Chapter III: The Moon Tower**

His bared feet stepped onto a flowery patch of grass, the touch a reprieve for his burning soles. The cliff was behind him, for this time the need to reach out to the honey maiden was greater than his urge to fly out to the sun. She sat in the center of the flowery grass with the air caressing those locks that shone gold under the sunlight. Naked, she beckoned him closer, and somehow Taichi had the hunch that this was a trap. He ought to turn around and fly to the sun, like he knew he was meant to. This had to be a trap, there was no other way. But her hair waved like liquid honey, enticing him, calling him, and her smile, warm and genuine, was unlike anything he had seen for as long as he could remember.

She rose from the grass and took his hand, and immediately he felt victim of her trap. He had been right; she would be the death of him. Her eyes rounded with her smile as she pushed her energy through to him, the channel the contact of their skins. Her energy made him mad with passion. He suddenly lifted her up in the air in circles, her melodious laughter filling him with everything that was warm and good. Finally he let her down neatly on the grass ground, intertwined his fingers with hers, and ran as fast as both their feet could take them to the cliff.

Taichi leapt into the abyss with the girl at his wake. His grotesque lizard wings sprouted out of him in a sickening ripping of flesh, but the pain was nothing compared to the rush of being able to fly out to the sun. He flapped his wings higher and higher, though once he looked down at the honey maiden he realized that the higher up he went the paler she became in his arms.

In a flashing moment of madness the sun was replaced by total blackness, the only illumination a cold moon that took his sun's place. The girl in his arms wasn't beautiful and full of smiles anymore. Her skin gaunt to her bones as she slowly became emaciated. The glow left her, and he, too, couldn't feel the warmth of her magic in him anymore. She cried at him, with doleful eyes he had seen before worlds away, and in his arms disintegrated into ashes. Taichi scrambled to grab what was left of her in terror, but the dust dispersed into thin air. His wings became feeble and useless, giving out under his weight, until he fell into the nothingness that was the night.

His woolen sheets were damp in cold sweat when he roused. He counted the seconds until his heart stopped pounding and his head stopped throbbing, and cursed his body for reacting so violently to these dreams. Not only did he have to come in contact with the girl during the daytime, but now his mind, too, insisted on mocking him with images of her at every sleeping moment. His only reassurance was that the more he dreamed of her, the more he realized the two weren't the same—or at least he liked to tell himself that.

Taichi jumped out of the sweaty sheets to wash his face in the cold water basin by the side of his bed. He hardly ever cared to know the time when he awoke, it made no matter; the days and nights were the same in the Castle of the Undead. His tiredness had banished, that was for sure, so he proceeded to clothe himself in cotton and boiled leather to leave the unbearable stillness of his bedchamber. As he dressed his mind took him back to the memory of his dreams. In a way they were always the same, and half of him was beginning to long for them, for they were a reprieve from his monotonous life. Yet at the same time he felt retched for having any sorts of feelings towards that poor peasant girl, or towards the idolized image of her, that so readily appeared in his dreams.

He decided to pay Yamato a visit. Yamato was Lord Apocalymon's servant and protégé as well, and the closest thing Taichi ever had to a friend. His bedchamber was deserted when he came by. Taichi figured he was out playing wolf with the packs that lurked the Forest of Woes, or strolling the castle in a late night patrol, as it was sometimes expected of them. He had come down to see Yamato out of boredom, and out of that same boredom Taichi decided he would search the castle for him.

His fingers pressed hard against the wooden door before he closed his eyes to feel the castle. One of the few advantages of Apocalymon's curse and control over him was that he, too, was magically tied to the castle. He could feel the enchantments that coursed through every stone pillar, every oak door, as much as he could feel and control the necromancer's undead wights. If he focused hard enough, he could even feel where everyone was and how they interacted with the haunted hold.

He focused his energies on his warg ally, but could not feel anything. Taichi frowned; this only happened whenever Yamato himself used his own abilities to block him out. What could he possibly be up to that he did not want anyone to find out? Taichi had half a mind to investigate when a different sensation reached him while his fingertips continued to graze the rough timber of Yamato's door. It was a sentiment of innocent desperation; a feeling of warmth that brought his mind back to his dreams, and suddenly his thoughts shifted to Mimi.

It didn't take him long to catch on to what she was doing.

He found her by the broken down, marble formation that once decorated the back gardens. Wild shrubbery grew everywhere on the ground, and the debris from years of neglect littered the space and obstructed a path that was once decorated in statues and flowers. Mimi let out a startled sob when he came out around a hedge shrouded in shadow and her face immediately revealed her intentions. She was trying to run away.

"What are you doing?" Taichi decided to humor her by giving her the benefit of the doubt.

Mimi swallowed hard, backing away from him as much as possible until her back hit the hedge behind her. She looked visibly smaller in the pale moonlight, her eyes dark and gaunt and the flesh around her bones thinner; she looked as if she had stopped eating.

"Well?"

"How could you tell where I was?" The last bit of defiance in her left her lips, her eyes on anywhere but him, trying to find ways to escape him.

"I told you; I know where everyone is and what everyone does in this castle." His eyes searched hers and he inwardly celebrated at how different she seemed from the girl in his dreams. Now he wouldn't have to feel guilt or reproach for having those dreams and feelings, for the girl in his dreams was not the same as the girl that belonged to his master.

"I was escaping. Now, if you don't mind—" A wild courage took over her, and she gave him a strong shove, which would have felt more significant were she not so starved.

Mimi walked past him and out towards the gates and for a second or two he watched her walk away, and he would have let her go, but eventually had to stop her he enticed his master's wrath. "You will never survive the Forest of Woes by yourself," his words cut through the still silence of the castle grounds, making her stop on the spot.

She was crying when he finally approached her, and he felt awkward, wondering if she expected him to comfort her. "The forest is filled with wraiths and wolves and savage Dejimon and enchanted trees and hungry plants. And it's a two-day trek across it to reach Belisse Road. You will die out there on your own."

"_It's either die out there or die in here_!"

His eyes softened and his jaw clenched. "The lord does not want you dead." _Yet_.

She crouched on the ground and covered her face in her hands in pitying helplessness, "_I just want to go—to go home_."

_Home_. People say home is where the heart is, but his heart was not in the Castle of the Undead, so where was his home? The humanity that lay dormant in him for so long stirred. She was innocent and undeserving of all this, and he was partly at fault. Her life was forever more changed because he brought her here.

He told himself over and over that she couldn't possibly be the girl in his dreams, that he wasn't overstepping his boundaries when he knelt down in front of her. She was just a peasant girl from Piyo Village, so it was alright for him to gingerly place his gloved hand on the roof of her head. _She will seem like she is your life, _Apocalymon's cynical words echoed in the back of mind when he made contact with her, but he pushed the thought away. Mimi and the honeyed maiden were different. They had to be. _Right?_

Her glistening, rounded eyes met his the moment she felt his touch. Honey met brown and for the fragment of a moment Taichi wished she _were_ the same girl from his nightmarish dreams. " I hate this place. I can't ever tell if it's day or night because it's always dark in this castle," she confessed, her tone warming up to him for the first time.

"It has been this way for hundreds of years."

"How do you live with it?" She faced him fully, her genuine countenance puzzling his insides.

Lord Apocalymon's spell numbed him to such frivolities. He had given up daytime the day he set foot in the castle, but it seemed like she was not yet ready to do the same. It was then that he remembered something Yamato had told him ages ago, about seeing and feeling the real moon in a hidden chamber on the highest tower of the castle.

"Everywhere I go I feel eyes watching me, I feel haunted, like something is not at peace and wants to take over me."

_The castle is alive, _he would have told her, instead he said as he rose to his feet, "Come with me."

She watched him from her spot on the ground, suddenly startled, and quickly asked him, "You won't take me to Apocalymon, will you?"

The corner of his lips curved upward the slightest. Her eyes rounded in fright, and for the briefest of moments Taichi admitted that she could be quite captivating at times. "No. I will show you something."

The honesty in his words was enough to compel her to follow him. He led her back to the main keep, where they ascended stairs and passageways into areas that were better left forgotten. The main keep was Lord Apocalymon's residence, so it was brimming in every corner and every turn with his rotting wights. They watched Mimi in a mixture of restrained hunger and curiosity as they passed through, but never once troubled them on their way up the tower.

There was hesitation in her once she realized she was being led towards the throne room. At one point she stopped in defiance, her breathing heavy from walking up the stairs, and leant against a wall as they were about to turn into the hallway outside Apocalymon's throne room. "Master Apocalymon is not in the castle at the moment. He left several nights ago." He told her the moment he noticed her reluctance.

"Oh—"

"That is why you were able to get as far as the outer gardens when you were trying to escape. No one can feel the castle better than the lord himself. He would have sensed you trying to run away and would have dragged you back in by the hair. Then, he would have fed off you." She gingerly straightened out her cotton dress after a little while of pondering his words and continued onwards, this time keeping a closer distance to him, but Taichi made sure to avoid her touch.

"You were lucky you tried your little escapade on the night he was away." He allowed himself to smirk, and the sheepish smile she offered him only stirred the humanity in him even more.

Their final obstacle was a tight, spiraled staircase made out of hundreds and hundreds of marble steps. He would have made his way up three steps at a time, but knew that the girl behind him, in her emaciated state, would not be able to keep up with him. They treaded up quietly—never before had the silence between them seemed so comfortable, and he feared that she was perhaps beginning to trust him. He knew he couldn't allow that, even if her sincerity and innocence awoke a different person inside him, for both their sakes.

Finally, at the end of the stairs, they reached a small, round foyer decorated by a crimson loveseat that sat under the faded portrait of Princess Culla. The paint was so faded that the only things visible were small patches of the skin on the princess' face and the pair of startling blue eyes that seemed to follow him from the moment he stepped up into the foyer. Ahead, a studded door confirmed that they were, indeed, in the Moon Tower. Below the carving of a crescent moon upon the wooden door was a small, plated sign that read, _Henceforth the Moon Tower Awaits_.

"Where are we?" They were so high up that the usual sounds of the castle were nearly inexistent. Mimi's voice cut sharply through the silence, making her whispers sound like yells.

Yamato once told him about this place, and how he stumbled up here in a moment of restlessness and insanity, surely caused by their lord's curse. He told Taichi that he saw the real moon when he into the tower, not the one that always haunts the castle, and that he felt rid of Apocalymon's curse when he howled up at it. "This is the Moon Tower," his fingers traced the engraving of the crescent moon upon the wood. He could feel the enchantments flowing from the door, but couldn't quite pinpoint if it was benign or malign magic. He had been expecting some resistance, so he was surprised when the door opened effortlessly for them. What they saw once they stepped in left them in awe.

The Moon Tower was a circular room with walls covered in richly engraved wood. The roof was a majestic dome of stained glass in circling patterns that ended at the very center. Half of the room was wood on stone, while the other half was of the same glass as the roof. The stained glass continued on downwards until it merged into a glass wall that opened to a marble balcony, from which the moonlight filtered through to give the room a blue, ethereal glow. At the center of the room was a four poster bed of purple and blue draperies. The glassed wall that faced the bed was designed to direct rays of moonlight directly onto the bed's linens, which were embroidered in images of a starry sky. The room was dressed in furniture of the same wood as the walls and as the majestic bed.

What was most significant about its appearance, however, was that unlike the rest of the castle, the furniture and space remained tidy, as if somebody religiously cleaned and polished the space.

"This place is magic," Mimi let out in a hopeful whisper. His eyes traveled to hers; she looked excited and alive once again.

Mimi strolled deeper into the room, uncaring of whether or not she was overstepping onto ancient enchantments and magic. She twirled once, to face him, and her moments vividly reminded him of the maiden in his dreams. "Apocalymon's influence doesn't reach this tower," she said knowingly.

He shook his head in agreement. He couldn't feel the haunting weight of the castle upon him anymore. Now he knew exactly what Yamato meant.

She continued forward and pushed the balcony glass doors open. Mimi skipped her way into the balcony like a fairy and Taichi couldn't stop himself from following her lead. From the balcony they could see the whole of the castle and the castle grounds, and could even gaze out at the blackness of the Forest of Woes that surrounded it. "Ever since you brought me to this castle I've started to hate the moon. It's weird; when I lived in Piyo Village a full moon was always welcoming, but now it reminds me of everything that's wrong and twisted about this place. But here it's different. Here the moon feels different."

They were both leaning against the marble railing of the balcony when she looked up at him with those sincere eyes, and he couldn't possibly agree more. Suddenly the moon was beautiful again, like it was meant to be in the songs and the stories. He hadn't comprehended it before, but now he realized that being a servant in the Castle of the Undead had even twisted his perception of the innocent, mystical moon.

"Taichi?" Somehow she had leant closer, but he didn't feel afraid of her proximity anymore, so he hardly noticed.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for bringing me here." He was too caught up in her smile to notice that she made to grab his hand in thanks. He had been wearing gloves, but her fingers reached for his wrist, and the tip of her middle and ring finger made contact with the flesh of his forearm—

_The hot air rushed past his arms and face and with a loud thud Taichi hit his bottoms on the dusty ground. A small cloud of dust lifted from his untidy fall, and suddenly his bottoms began to burn from the impact and from the searing temperature of the ground underneath him. The day was hot and bright, and when he looked up in search for his mother, his eyes were blinded by the glaring sun. Then the sudden realization crashed down on him; he had fallen again; his useless wings had given in under his weight and he had fallen to the ground. He wanted to cry in helplessness but knew that would only make him more like an idiot._

_A tall figure landed beside him. She had lovely brown eyes and brown hair that ruffled wildly all about her as she landed by his side. "Alright there, Tai?"_

"_The ground is hot!"_

"_Then you should come back up into the sky!" The woman giggled, and somewhere in the distance he heard the melodious laughter of another child as a tall man swooshed her wildly in the air. The girl and the man flapped high in the sky together, their fingers hardly intertwining as the girl was slowly beginning to master flying._

"_Mom, but I can't fly," he felt ashamed to admit it. His sister was a natural, so why couldn't he hold his own weight for longer than a minute?_

_She grabbed both his hands and flapped those large wings of hers—the wings of a dragon—rousing a rampant cloud of dust all around them, and suddenly Taichi was lifted into the air once again, his wings flapping feebly over him. "Nonsense! You were born to fly! Try it again!" And she threw him higher up. His innards dropped, his meal performing mad flips inside his stomach, and he thrashed his wings all about with all his might, dreading the moment when he would lose his momentum and would eventually lose his elevation—_

"Taichi?" Mimi now shook both his hands, worry ever present in those honeys of her.

He had the phantom sensation of his eyes being dilated and blinded from the harsh transition, and it took him a second to realize where he was, but really he had been here in the darkness of the night all along. "Taichi?" Mimi cocked her head to the side in curiosity, "Is something the matter?" She immediately let go of his hands as she realized her trepidation—her invasion of his personal space.

"What happened?" He took a step back and caressed the spot where her fingers had touched his skin. The fog in his mind had cleared for just a second, and what he saw terrified him. Was that a vision? A memory? The future? It couldn't be; the grotesque lizard wings were only present in his nightmarish dreams of the sun and of the honey maiden, never in real life.

"You spaced out…"

"_I have to go_—" His fear of her was suddenly reawakened. Her touch had stirred something that had been dormant inside him so long that now felt foreign. Her touch had also overpowered Lord Apocalymon's influence over him. It was a freeing feeling, along with that foreign memory of him being in that dusty field with that woman he called _mom_. He had felt Lord Apocalymon's influence in him for so long that not feeling it for the slightest of seconds, surging deep inside him at his core and manipulating everything he did and felt, terrified him.

Her eyes rounded and Taichi immediately knew to stay away from her. He quickly turned and left her dumbfounded by the balcony. Her steps followed him as she asked in fright, "Is Apocalymon coming? Did he catch us? Can he sense us up here?"

_Did he catch us_? That sounded like they were doing something forbidden. But yes, indeed, they were doing something terribly forbidden. She was too naïve to realize that _she_ was the problem. Half of him wanted to flee and leave her to her own devices, but the other half of him remembered her defeated countenance when he saw her at the gardens and he took pity on her. "Go back," he told her, pushing open the Moon Tower door. Princess Culla's eerie eyes on the portrait followed him as he made his way down to the spiraled staircase.

Mimi followed him diligently, blurting out at his wake, "Will we be able to come back here again?"

He stopped, causing her to almost crash into him. His darkened eyes searched hers. It was forbidden madness, to come here with her and experience those freeing feelings once again. Lord Apocalymon would skin him alive if he ever found out. "Yes," the word left his mouth before he dared to stop himself. She smiled at him, which was enough to conclude their exchange. He turned and used his inhuman abilities to jump fast and hard down the stairs, lifting a gust of wind as he went, leaving Mimi standing alone at his wake.

**~~~ooooo~~~**

"The Mad Queen Vargr… Inspiration for the insane." The head cook had put a stop to the two scullions that wanted to sing the song of the Mad Queen Vargr. "And she'll have your tongue, if her soldiers hear that dirty mouth of yours singing that—"

"Her soldiers can try to get my pimply ass cheeks for all I care," one of the scullions yelled back as he beat the pork with an iron hammer to soften it up. Some of the servants laughed, while others cowered at the threatening look the head cook was giving him. He pretended not be bothered and continued on, "You think Her Royal Pomposity's soldiers would ever set foot in the Forest of Woes? Let alone in Castle of the Undead? If they did we'd be rescued long ago. I much rather merrily sing my song and fear Lord Apocalymon than worry about some wrinkly old queen and her ideas of what is sinful or not." He waved the hammer about, enticing his mates to holler loudly.

"_Hear hear_!"

The head cook was about to throw two potatoes at them but stopped himself, probably deciding it wasn't worth the trouble. "Enough buffoonery and get back to being useful! I want my pork softer than Princess Culla's red lips or I'll have both of your hides to pay for it!" A few guffawed. "And I'll have none of this lewd singing in my kitchen! We might feed a necromancer but that doesn't give us the right to laugh about The Great Cleanse. Anybody feels like singing it? Then they can happily jump into my pot of soup and sing to their heart's content. Gods know I could use the extra meat."

With a bowl of leftover stew in her hands, Mimi sat close to the hearth while she witnessed the exchange. The hearth kept her warm and the food content, so she never once moved even when the head cook walked by and spilt fat droplets of hot stew all around her in his excitement. She was surprised he was sensible enough to shut them up. The Great Cleanse might have happened over a decade ago, but most people were still very sensitive to it, though some were downright insolent, especially when they sung that song.

Mimi knew about _The_ _Mad Queen Vargr. _It was a song that started as a protest to Queen Gracinha Vargr's terrible mandate of cleansing the land of demi-humans, and all those that dared sing it in her lands were rewarded with the swift and prompt cutting of their tongues. Slowly the song was phased out, until it was also viewed as an insult to all the deceased demi-humans that lost their lives because of her insanity.

The Great Cleanse happened before Mimi ever met any demi-humans, so she couldn't personally feel affected. She was six or seven years old when the guards came by her door and rushed through her house searching for any harbored demi-humans. Once the queen gave the order that all demi-humans were to be put to the gallows, or to the axe—whichever they preferred—anybody that helped or harbored demi-humans became an enemy of the state. Her army swept south from the northern Royal City of Nova Cursa to every city, port, farm, and homestead in search of the mystical demi-humans until they were all exterminated. It was a terrible year, but Piyo Village had only one demi-human family, and they went missing weeks before the queen's guards swept through with their search, so the crimson of her madness never reached Mimi's small world.

Queen Gracinha was forever more labeled as the Mad Queen Vargr, for her mandate claimed that she believed the beginnings of the demi-humans to be sinful and repugnant. She declared the Kingdom of Dejimon was a peaceful land with two distinct races, the humans and the Dejimon, and demi-humans, which were the fruit of the interbreeding between the two when the kingdom was born millennia ago, were beings of sin and damnation. The songs and tales of her mandate, however, japed of other outrageous motives, ranging from rumors of an affair between the late King Bear Vargr and a demi-human, tales of demi-humans being the result of a dark sorcerer creating a monstrous chimera out of a human and a Dejimon, to talks of a demi-human bastard being the true sovereign to the kingdom.

Mimi had never seen the queen before, since Piyo Village was leagues away from The Royal City of Nova Cursa, but in her eyes she was a monster and a tyrant for ordering the extermination of all the demi-humans. And she agreed with the head cook, it wasn't right to pass the time entertaining themselves with such a tasteless song. Her musings were interrupted when Palmon came by, jokingly snatching Mimi's half empty bowl. "You're loafing!"

"It's my break!" Mimi took the bowl right back and scooped up the coagulated grease off the sides with her fingers, then hungrily lapped it all.

"Break time's over, you spoiled little pup!" The head cook was suddenly onto them. "Just because Lord Apocalymon wants to do Soril knows what with you doesn't mean you won't toil like the rest of us." He mentioned Soril, the Faceless God of the Sun, and Mimi was up in an instant.

She handed Palmon her empty bowl and bowed. "Don't bow you useless girl, do I look like Lord Apocalymon to you? Instead of wasting your time bowing around you could take some food up to the keep." He filled her hands with a lidded silver platter that was very hot to the touch before she had any time to protest.

"Where to, sir?"

"Palmon, spare me the trouble and tell her where. I have a kitchen to tend to." And with that he went back to his spot by the giant iron cauldron, which always appeared to require unlimited amounts of stirring.

Her Dejimon confidante led her up the spiraled staircase of the kitchen as she told her in a kind voice, "You'll be taking this to a prisoner. Her room is at the center of the main keep, two floors below the throne room. If you reach the arched passageways to the other towers you'll know you've gone too high up."

Mimi nodded fervently and tried to absorb as much as she could, but Palmon, too, was being rushed by the head cook to peel the potatoes while Mimi took the food up. She hardly gave her proper directions before prodding her out of the kitchen with the vines of her hands. The kitchen was mad with the fervent sounds of supper being prepared, and Mimi knew she would be kicked out if she went back down to ask again. So instead she took a leapt of faith and went on forward to the main keep.

Surprisingly, Mimi did not get lost. Palmon's directions took Mimi to a small oratory of The Faceless right outside the prisoner's room. She was surprised to see a holy room here of all places, but decided that the previous owners, the owners of the Palace of Weisse, were the ones that built this small chamber into the castle.

The Faceless was a religious sect as old as the kingdom itself. Comprised mostly of Dejimon, conjurers, and magic folk, Facists revered the two Faceless gods Soril and Rahmaegut, God of the Sun and God of the Void, respectively. Mimi knew about Faceless lore and the complexity of their beliefs, but her gods were the Mother and the Father, the Thaumaturge gods. Upon seeing the Faceless gods' oratory here in the castle, though, she realized that perhaps this was why the prayers she sent to the Mother to escape or be rescued from the castle felt to be in vain, for it was said that a household that paid homage to one god would never allow anybody to revere any other god within it. Had the Palace of Weisse been a Facists home?

Facist sanctuaries always had the same layout, with two black marble statues overlooking the small, symmetrical chamber from the east and from the west. To the east, or her right, was the statue of Soril, God of the Sun, whereas the statue of Rahmaegut, God of the Void, overlooked the room from the west, where the sun was supposed to set. The benign god Soril was always depicted as standing up straight with his sleek hair falling down to his waist, both his arms were bent to his side, and his hands pointed up at the sky. His right hand pointed up with a slim index finger, and his left hand pointed up with his fabled sword, the Dawnbringer.

Rahmaegut's statue faced Soril's. The statue of Rahmaegut was of him sitting on his fiend throne, with one leg folded over the other and his left elbow leaning against the leg, lazily supporting his head. Rahmaegut was supposed to be kneeling to Soril, but he had been a contemptuous king, and for his insolence Soril had cursed him to close his eyes for eternity, so he was forever more depicted as a throned king lazily sitting with his eyes closed. According to Faceless lore, the world's end would come with the opening of Rahmaegut's eyes.

Mimi walked quickly past the chamber, taking special care not to tip her platter, but all the same avoided glancing at either god as she went. The Faceless gods scared her, for they required living sacrifices from those who worshiped them, and were both merciless gods. Granted, those who practiced the religion often had stronger aptitudes for magic, but it came at a steep cost. She couldn't imagine Princess Culla and her benevolent parents worshiping such gods.

She knocked once, twice, and suddenly someone swung the door open and out stepped Yamato from the darkened room. Mimi staggered, holding on to the plate for dear life, and cowered under his glare. "What?" He snapped at her staring. Something about his eyes seemed out of the ordinary. She had never noticed it before, but now that he was so up close, it was impossible to deny it. His eyes looked wild and feral, reminding Mimi of the angry hunger in a wolf's eyes. What was he doing in the prisoner's room? He was the prisoner?

"I've come to bring food—"

He shook his head condescendingly and stalked off and out of the sanctuary.

She turned to watch him walk away, feeling quite stupid that he had left her there holding the food, until somebody coughed apologetically behind her. "Oh I'm glad you're here, I'm feeling quite hungry," the person welcomed her in to the small room, where the few candles casted orange lights and maroon shadows upon the prisoner's skin and hair, and Mimi only followed her, her mouth dropping noticeably as she detailed her countenance.

Mimi knew that ginger hair and that freckled nose. She had seen her many times strolling the Piyo Village marketplace, always escorted by a pair of armored men wearing her family's banner of the burgundy two-headed eagle upon a poppy orange sky. Lady Sora Takenouchi hadn't been abducted by bandits, like Mrs. Weatherbane had said; she had been taken prisoner to Castle of the Undead!

The girl tilted her head kindly to the side and asked once Mimi's gaping had become obvious, "That's my food… right?"

"Uh—the—yeah—um—the food." Mimi set the platter on Lady Sora's night table.

"Is something the matter?" Lady Sora sat by her bed and opened her platter. Her eyes and her lips smiled at the sight of the food.

Mimi figured she looked like a fool for gaping so much. "You're Lady Sora Takenouchi, heiress to Castle Takenouchi in Piyo Village," Mimi couldn't hide her excitement any longer. At least she now knew she wasn't the only one from her hometown here.

The color drained from the lady's freckled cheeks and she suddenly looked startled. "How do you know me?"

"I'm from Piyo Village, too! My name is Mimi. I used to be a baker at the marketplace—well, a baker's apprentice." The lady motioned her to sit by her side, which she graciously did before continuing, "The entire town thought you had been kidnapped by bandits… but really you've been a prisoner of Apocalymon all along, huh?"

Her pretty brown eyes rounded. "They think—they think I was taken by bandits? My parents think I've been taken by bandits?" Her tone dropped, and Mimi figured what that realization meant for her. Sora faced her fully and in the dim light of the candles Mimi noticed the unusual gloss in her eyes, "They'll never find me. They are probably looking for me all over Belisse Road, they'll never think to look for me in an olden castle in the middle of a haunted forest."

Mimi could only gulp loudly. She understood her pain, and for the slimmer of a second was jealous that Lady Sora actually had her family rescuing her to look forward to. What did she have for hope? Who would ever notice that she went missing? Who would miss her and would even think to rescue her? "Why did Apocalymon kidnap you?" Mimi asked her kindly before her dark musings made her dismiss the fact that, in a weird way, she was happy to see Lady Sora here.

"Do you mind if I eat?" Lady Sora asked her politely, making Mimi blush twenty different shades of red.

"Of course!" She was awfully courteous for being such a highborn lady. "Please do."

Lady Sora stuffed her mouth with a piece of bread she had dipped into the stew. "I'm sorry, they only feed me once a day, and I'm terribly hungry," this she said with a mouth full of food.

Mimi smiled, "I know, I'm only allowed to eat once, too." Her stomach stirred uncomfortably as she watched the lady eat, but by now she was used to the feeling of an empty belly.

Lady Sora offered her a piece of the bread, "Share with me."

Mimi would have refused, but at that moment her stomach growled quite audibly, and she would be a fool to turn down warm food, for all she ever got to eat were stale pieces of bread and cold, left over potatoes. They finished the food together, Lady Sora's fondness captivating Mimi over and over again. The platter had contained warm bread and the vegetable and pork stew and some honeyed peaches and a bowl of lukewarm almond milk. Sora watched her with a smile as she licked the grease off her fingers once the plate was empty. But Mimi didn't care; she hadn't tasted so much delicious variety since she set foot in Castle of the Undead, so the flavors were a welcomed reprieve.

"What does Apocalymon want with you?" Lady Sora asked as she picked at the pork in-between her teeth.

Mimi did the same before replying, "He keeps calling me flowerborn, and… and has me here so that he can drain some kind of my magic from me."

"_Flowerborn_? And you don't know what magic that is?"

Mimi shrugged, feeling a little foolish for never caring to learn about what it was and what it meant to be a flowerborn. Truth was that she hated whatever coursed deep inside her, for it only brought her pain at the hands of Apocalymon. "I guess… I haven't wanted to accept it. It feels more like a curse; it's because of that that I'm a prisoner of this place."

Lady Sora observed her while Mimi detailed her room. The lady had a vast room, much bigger than her hole over in the west keep. Crimson drapery covered the tall windows of her room, while her bed was not made of straw, but of a worn out cherry that still stood strong and sturdy. The cherry of the bed matched the wood of the wardrobe and chest of drawers that decorated the space, and in front of the burning hearth was a quaint tea table and chair that housed a pile of books, undoubtedly to serve as her entertainment. The room reminded her of something particularly pious, and it wasn't until Mimi gazed upon the east and west walls that she noticed the dirty outline of two statues, one standing up straight and one sitting on a throne. "You tend to the Faceless gods?" This surprised her; Mimi could distinctly remember that the lords of Piyo Village paid homage to the Father and the Mother.

"Oh no," the lady sighed, "They just put me here. This must have been their priest's quarters. Mayhap it was one of the more suitable bedchambers in the castle?"

"Well—yeah. My bedchamber is nothing compared to this. I sleep on straw and it gets really cold at night. But it's ok; I also had a straw bed back home…"

There was a silence, and it was as if the Lady Sora was contemplating the rift between them. The difference in their social statuses was also manifested in the way they were treated in the castle. She sighed heavily and finally confessed, "I'm here because I, too, have powers Apocalymon covets. But… he doesn't drain them from me, he is just fattening me up spiritually so he can consume me."

"Consume you?"

"Devour me." She gulped heavily as she fidgeted with her fingers. "And I do remember you. I just couldn't pinpoint it. But now I've remembered. You are that nice baker; you gave me that pecan treat that had me begging my lady mother to let me into town again." Mimi couldn't help but blush at the lady's compliments.

"Why didn't you come back again?"

"That was a fortnight before Yamato brought me here." Suddenly she was very fidgety, as if she was growing uncomfortable of Mimi's presence, but that wasn't it. Mimi made to touch her hand, to tell her that she would bake her the treat again if the head cook would allow it, but when their skins touched Lady Sora flinched, in the same manner Taichi had done whenever their skins made contact.

She gasped, her brown eyes staring at the spot where their hands had touched. "I felt your magic—"

"I'm sorry—"

"No, don't be." She grasped both of Mimi's hands, fully, and her lips made that pretty smile once again, "It's really wonderful. It really is. Your touch makes me remember everything that's warm and pleasant. I can feel my parent's love, my village's warmth, your sincerity." They smiled at each other, and for the first time ever Mimi didn't despise having that power deep inside her. Eventually the lady's eyes hardened and she told Mimi in a solemn tone, "I'm going to escape this castle."

"No." The words left her mouth before she could control them, but the truth was that something deep inside her was beginning to comprehend the extent of Apocalymon's inhumanity and cruelty. She suddenly wanted to warn and protect this sweet lady that shared her food and showed her kindness. "You can't—"

"Why?" Lady Sora was surprised. She was half expecting Mimi to jump in on the idea.

Mimi looked down, her eyes clouded in anger and helplessness, "I've already tried it. Somehow Taichi and Yamato are tied to the castle, and they can sense when someone is trying to escape." _And Taichi was kind enough to show me to the Moon Tower when I felt like the world was crashing down on me, but if Yamato had been the one to find me, then I don't know what would have become of me_, she wanted to say, but bit her lips at the last minute.

"I know," Sora's smile was puzzling. She gripped her hands reassuringly and finally told Mimi as she edged closer and closer, "I know about that, but I'm going to be able to escape because Yamato is going to break me out."

"_What_?" Yamato was a step crueler than Taichi; he would never. "Milady, please, Yamato would just turn you in to Apocalymon. And think about the Forest of Woes, it's filled with the Father knows what, how will you survive?"

Lady Sora's hand slipped out of her grasp as she slowly turned away. She looked so beautiful in the flickering of the candle wicks, a blushing maiden from the songs and tales. There was a small wall between, weaving and building, so that Mimi was unable to understand her mannerisms and feelings. Finally she whispered, "We've fallen in love, Mimi."

Suddenly Mimi's heart was racing. She was terrified for the lady, but most of all she couldn't fandom the idea of somebody like Yamato ever having feelings for somebody like her. Her honey brows furrowed and she leant closer, but Lady Sora avoided eye contact all the while. "Do you know what it's like, to love someone so much your heart shatters every time they walk away?"

Mimi wouldn't know, she was just an orphaned baker's apprentice; things like that only happened to princes and princesses. She shook her head, prompting Lady Sora to continue, "At first I was terrified. These feelings will surely cost us our lives if Apocalymon ever finds out, and Yamato understands that, that is why he can't continue to play the loyal servant act any longer."

"Lady Sora, Yamato is under Apocalymon's spell, as is Taichi—"

"_No_. Yamato has the heart of a wolf. He is no mere human, he can fight Apocalymon's spell."

_Well Taichi is no mere human either_, she wanted to say, but realized it would sound weird if she suddenly started defending Apocalymon's other lackey.

"Yamato—Matt is not going to allow Apocalymon to devour me."

_Matt?_

Lady Sora finally met her gaze and took her hands. She could see in Lady Sora's eyes that she felt Mimi's magic coursing through her with her touch once again. "I can tell you're a good person Mimi, and you don't deserve to be here. I'm sure Yamato wouldn't mind if you escaped with us. Do you want to escape the Castle of the Undead?"

Mimi's heart was performing magnificent flips. She couldn't believe the lady was actually asking her to escape with her. Was this in any way real? Was Lady Sora really going to become her savior? It was an opportunity, albeit with Yamato, and perhaps he wasn't as terrible as she was imagining him to be. "You mean, really escape? For good?" Was the Mother finally answering her prayers?

Lady Sora nodded eagerly. "You can return to your life in Piyo Village, and I'll come by your bakery and get another one of those amazing pecan tarts."

"When will we escape?"

"Matt is getting things prepared for now. Just wait for my signal, ok? I will find you or summon you when the time comes. We will get out of this and Apocalymon won't be having any of our powers for supper anymore."

Mimi rose excitedly from the bed, realizing that she had probably stayed here for much too long, and the cooks would start wondering where she had scurried off to. She tidied the plates and readied the platter to be taken away. "Ok, I won't forget. I have to go, before they start asking where I am."

"And Mimi—" Lady Sora stopped her as she was opening the door to the chapel, "Never forget to lose hope. We will make it out of this live."

* * *

Please leave a review :).


End file.
